HOPE – One year ago, Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Superintendent Shawn Price said “we are planning to pay for 100% of the days that we have Deputy Jessica Pendleton as our school resource officer (SRO) in 2021.”
On Monday, Price kept that promise.
In a memorandum of understanding approved Monday by the Bartholomew County commissioners, the school corporation agreed to pay Pendleton for 210 work days to provide security and related services at Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School and Hope Elementary.
That covers not only all 190 days of the Flat Rock-Hawcreek school year, but an additional 20 days for such events as extracurricular activities and parent-teacher conferences, Bartholomew County Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane said.
In addition, the Hope schools are following the lead of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. by providing up to 130 gallons of gasoline per month to their SRO, Lane said.
"My best estimate is that it will probably be around $90,000 that the school corporation will be contributing back to the county," Lane said.
In 2019, the school administrators agreed to pay Pendleton $45,000 annually — an amount substantially less than the $61,530 the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. was paying at the time for each of their SROs.
However, in the wake of concern that followed a February 2018 mass shooting at a Florida high school, the Bartholomew County Council agreed to pay the balance of Pendleton’s first-year salary and benefits. But the council’s offer came with the understanding that county taxpayer assistance would be limited and Flat Rock-Hawcreek officials would explore ways to fully fund the position.
Last July, the Hope-area schools raised about $60,000 to keep Pendleton on their campuses, Price said. Since that amount was less than $2,000 short of what other SROs were making, the funding gap was easily filled.
When asked how his corporation was able to raise the additional money, Price said an increase in the student population gets much of the credit for increased revenue. But the superintendent also commended “smart fiscal planning and budgeting” by administrators such as Flat Rock-Hawcreek business manager Jeff Cleland.
When Pendleton was approved to be at the Hope-area school in late 2018, she had already served as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) instructor for four years.
She has also received training through the National Association of School Resource Officers, which provides a variety of educational opportunities that begin with a five-day basic school resource officer course.
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Besides Jessica Pendleton in the Flat Rock-Hawcreek district, there are five other school resource officers in Bartholomew County.
Julie Quesenbery, Columbus Police Department
Columbus East High School
Columbus Signature Academy — Fodrea Elementary School
Eric Stevens, Columbus Police Department
Columbus North High School
Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech
Busy Bees Academy
Eric Kapcyznski, Columbus Police Department
Northside Middle School
W.D. Richards Elementary School
L.C. Schmitt Elementary School
L. Frances Smith Elementary School
Greg Ross, Columbus Police Department
Central Middle School
McDowell Education Center
Columbus Signature Academy – Lincoln Elementary School
Parkside Elementary School
Teancum Clark, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department
Southside Elementary School
Mt. Healthy Elementary School
Taylorsville Elementary School
Clifty Creek Elementary School
Rockcreek Elementary School
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