ECPD to add new school resource specialist position
EL CENTRO — A grant from the California Department of Justice will allow El Centro Police Department to fund temporarily a school resource specialist (SRS), who will be working with students throughout the city.
Specifically, the SRS will educate kids in junior high and high school about the dangers related to tobacco use.
The position remains open as of Wednesday, as ECPD is still working to finalize a memorandum of understanding and receive approval from the state, ECPD Deputy Chief Robert Sawyer said.
The position will be a non-sworn, civilian position in the department, and will receive direction from a designated police sergeant.
The SRS will not carry a firearm and will wear an ECPD uniform somewhat similar to the ones that the department’s community service officers wear.
The position is being funded by a grant from Cal DOJ through the Tobacco Grant Program, a city staff report stated.
The ECPD initially requested $1 million.
“Unfortunately, we were only awarded $500,000 during this grant cycle,” ECPD Chief Brian P. Johnson said. “We have not spent any of the funds to date.”
The position will be placed in the city’s Step 1 pay range ($20.06 per hours) with no benefits, and will be a temporary, limited five-year-term position.
The El Centro City Council on Jan. 5 unanimously approved the job description for the position, with the request that city staff investigate options to make this a position with benefits.
“I believe that would be a cost that we could absorb in the grant funding,” Johnson said. “We could make some amendments with the grant coordinator with Cal DOJ, and I don’t believe that’ll be an issue — that they would be able to absorb the entire cost of that employee.”
Johnson said ECPD was initially approved for a sworn school resource officer position.
“But, because of some of our staffing challenges, we went back to the state and requested an amendment to the grant allowing us to fill it with a civilian position, because we thought we’d be more able to fill that position quickly,” he said. “I believe we’ll be able to fill it quickly and get the program up and running.”
The primary focus of the SRS will be to work with the El Centro Elementary School District and the Central Union High School District, a city staff report stated.
The SRS will provide students, teachers, parents and others education and training on the negative effects of tobacco, and will provide education presentations, at minimum, on a quarterly basis.
“As an educator working at all of our local high schools, I know that a resource officer is extremely important,” Councilwoman Martha Cardenas-Singh said. “It fills a great bridge between parents, students and the school staff. I’m very excited to see these efforts taking place, and having that connection between school and community and our department. I’m really excited to see this moving forward.”
The SRS will also serve as a tobacco grant coordinator, and collaborate with the Imperial County Public Health Department and other city of El Centro departments to facilitate tobacco grant-related activities and enforcement actions.
“A civilian position is more than appropriate for it, and that’s why we requested that amendment with the state,” Johnson said.