Province approves funding for police officer at Three Oaks school

SUMMERSIDE – There will be a police resource officer stationed at Summerside’s Three Oaks Senior High School this fall.

Education Minister Brad Trivers confirmed Friday that his department has committed to working with the City of Summerside and the Department of Justice to fund a pilot project for the school, starting in September.

The City of Summerside had put aside $50,000 in its budget this year to partially fund such a position, but there had been no word until now as to whether the province would agree to a partnership. “Everybody seems on board at this point,” Trivers told the Journal Pioneer.

“We especially believe in listening to our frontline staff. That means our teachers and our administrators, and they really have been working with the City of Summerside and felt this was an important thing to have.”

No other details are yet known about the initiative. How much the province’s contribution will be and how the officer will fit into the school environment are still being worked out.

Still, Coun. Barb Ramsay, who helped spearhead the push for the pilot project, is calling Friday’s news a win for the community.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” said Ramsay.

“It’s a proactive program, a proactive relationship this officer can build with (students); being involved in extracurricular activities, getting to know the students, their families and not being seen as a negative but as a friend or a resource,” said Ramsay.

Colonel Gray High School has used a similar program in Charlottetown for the past several years and police officer are now widely stationed in many other schools across Canada.