No officer
Mary Stroka
NLJ Reporter
Weston County School District No. 1 will begin the 2024-25 school year without the benefits of having a full-time school resource officer like they did at the end of the last school year, but law enforcement will still be present, Superintendent Brad LaCroix said at the school board’s Aug. 14 board meeting.
“I know that the intent is, is if they (Newcastle Police Department) do get fully staffed, that that’s something that they can do in the near future, but we have talked at least as a leadership team to start the school year, there will not be a full-time school resource officer,” he said.
LaCroix said in a phone interview on Aug. 19 that police presence in the parking lot, hallways and lunch room will be “pretty much the same.”
“When they have time,” both Newcastle Police Department and Weston County Sheriff’s Office personnel will still patrol in the parking lots, walk the hallways, spend time in the classroom and lunchroom, and read to students, LaCroix said.
“I don’t think it really changes the big picture of things,” he said.
The school district does not, at this time, plan to pay its portion of an SRO contract, but the district is keeping the office available and prepared for a potential SRO, he said.
“It’s just a staffing pattern issue with the city at this time, which we hope is resolved sometime soon,” he said.
School resource officers are police officers stationed in the schools who also may be called away for other patrol duties, according to LaCroix. About 20 years ago, the district had a grant and an SRO, but even then, the person was still responsible for responding to incidents outside of school, if needed. About five years ago, the district still had a full-time SRO, but in the subsequent absence of that, the district has always had some kind of police presence.
“Of course, we would always like to have somebody, you know, here 24/7, or at least wherever the issue is because that would help,” he said. “Knowing that we don’t live in a perfect world, we also know that we have to have (a) system set up.”
LaCroix said school staff receive training on how to respond to an incident that would harm students and staff. The district’s schools are also close to the police department.
“We hope and pray that, No. 1, it never does happen and if something does happen, somebody’s coming to help quick,” he said.
LaCroix said he has told students it’s crucial for people to pay attention.
“Our best line of defense has always been people paying attention to people,” he said. “School resource officers are just not always just the answer. They have to be in the right place and react the right way to whatever the situation is, but I would still come back to, if it doesn’t feel right, say something to somebody. If you have that gut feeling that something isn’t right or a student isn’t right or your buddy isn’t right, you got to put it on somebody’s radar to help because you can’t help what you don’t know.”
Newcastle Police Chief Derek Thompson said in an email on Aug. 19 that while the department has just one open position, the department is currently down three officers “for various reasons.”
“We have just enough staff to cover the patrol shifts,” Thompson said.
One officer will return at the beginning of September, which will help the department have presence in the schools, according to Thompson. He would like to have an SRO in the schools when the department has enough staff, but he said interest in positions at the department has been limited, likely because of limited starting pay and budget.
School board Chair Dana Mann-Tavegia said she had asked Thompson whether a sign-on bonus could help with the search for an SRO, and Thompson said it “might.”
Thompson told the News Letter Journal that he had not considered offering a sign-on bonus before he spoke with Mann-Tavegia.
“I actually think it might be a great idea, if we have the room in our budget to get it done,” he said.
Thompson said having an SRO last year who could build relationships with students and encourage them to be forthcoming helped the department gather information regarding crimes in the community, both inside and outside of the schools, and those details helped police “interdict” some crimes.
“The increased officer presence in the schools also helped to deter some crimes in the school,” he said. “Having an officer readily available in the school also provided some comfort to parents and students in the event a critical incident were to occur in the schools.”
The school district’s current SRO, who was working in a full-time capacity at the school district in the 2023-24 school year, is on leave “pending an event that happened” and “actually has not resigned yet,” Thompson said in a phone call on Aug. 26.
“I can’t really talk about it,” he said. “It’s under investigation.”
The department did receive an applicant for a police officer position between Aug. 19 and 26, but, as Thompson said in the email, he doubts the department will be able to gain a full-time SRO for schools this year. Putting a new employee through the police academy and field training would take at least six months, and a new police officer would need to be ready to “be on their own” before an experienced Newcastle police officer could become an SRO.
According to the National Association of School Resource Officers’ website, SRO candidate officers should have at least three years of law enforcement experience because it helps them have credibility in the school community and a better understanding of their law enforcement agency’s operations.
“In the meantime, we are going to try to be as present as possible by having the patrol officers do regular walk-throughs and visits to the schools,” Thompson said.
For example, through scheduling adjustments, Newcastle police Sgt. Nicholas Kaminski will be able to be more available for school visits than the department had originally expected him to be, Thompson said in the follow-up phone call. Officers have been present around the pick-up and drop-off times, and they’ve been trying to make an appearance in the schools throughout their shift.
Weston County Sheriff Bryan Colvard said in a phone interview on Aug. 19 that his office helps the Upton and Newcastle police departments. If his office had an SRO, the person would have to cover both Weston County school districts because he wouldn’t have an SRO at Newcastle schools and not provide the same service to Upton schools.
He said that he believes all law enforcement agencies in Weston County hold schools as a top priority when classes are in session, and deputies try to spend time in each of Weston County’s schools daily, walking through hallways and checking parking lots, but it works out to be about four days a week of some sort of school contact — even if it is just having a presence at a football game.
According to Colvard, not having an SRO isn’t concerning, but SROs are an important part of school and finding an SRO who is ideal for the job is challenging.
“It’s been my experience, over the last 20 years here, that it is a tough job. Not a lot of cops, the way they’re wired, want to do that job, but there are some out there that are very good,” he said.
The person needs to relate well to children and be able to earn their trust, serving as a mentor and a resource, but there’s a “very thin line” between being friendly with children and becoming “best buddies,” which might cause the law enforcement officer to overlook behaviors, Colvard said.
Mann-Tavegia had also asked whether Thompson believed anyone had moved to Newcastle who possessed tactical training, had recently retired and may be willing to serve as a part-time SRO.
“I’m just trying to think out of the box,” she said.
The first day of the 2024-25 school year for Weston County School District was Aug. 21.
School Shorts
Notes from the Aug. 14, 2024, meeting of Weston County
School District No. 1
• Board Chair Dana Mann-Tavegia recognized Joslyn Pischke for winning fourth in the finals average and fifth in the world at the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo. Pischke will compete in Las Vegas in December.
• Board Vice Chair Jason Jenkins asked the board to consider discussing special education training so they can better understand how to help the district’s special education department. Superintendent Brad LaCroix suggested that the board have an early start to an upcoming board meeting to hold the discussion.
• According to Adam Ertman, the district’s director of maintenance, Strand’s Lawn Care said progress on the football fields project is “right where we should be.” Grass on the practice field is beginning to take root.
Dog deal
The drug-sniffing canine that used to be deployed at Weston County School District No. 1 will be sold, officials said.
Newcastle Police Chief Derek Thompson said in an email on Aug. 19 that the Weston County Peace Officers Association has decided to sell the canine the group had purchased primarily for use in the schools.
“We currently do not have enough staff with enough time on their hands to be effective at handling the dog,” he said. “The dog would not be utilized enough to justify having him, due to the caseload officers have on their plates.”
Thompson said the department would consider having a dog in the future, “if the opportunity presents itself.”
Superintendent Brad LaCroix said he hopes that even if the dog is sold, the district may be able to coordinate with the trainer to hold a lockdown drill. In the past, the district has always relied on other organizations, such as the Wyoming Highway Patrol or the Air Force base. He hopes the district will still have a dog that can ensure the school grounds and parking lots are drug-free, but that will depend on other organizations’ needs.
Weston County Sheriff Bryan Colvard said the sheriff’s department has had a K-9 for several years. Sgt. Travis Garhart is the K-9 deputy.