Modesto City Schools board to weigh in on security officers

The Modesto City Schools board will weigh in Tuesday on plans for a school security team. Staff is recommending hiring eight unarmed guards to serve its high schools.

The board normally meets on Mondays but will delay a day as a tip of the hat to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which Modesto schools have off.

Staffing shortages led the Modesto Police Department to pull back its four school resource officers to cover patrol shifts, cutting short its $452,500 yearlong contract with Modesto City Schools.

The school security team proposal up for board approval estimates startup costs, including uniforms and eight cars, at $250,000, with an ongoing annual expense of up to $443,000. Seven guards would be stationed at the district’s seven large high schools, and a supervisor would be based at Elliott Alternative Education Center, the continuation high school.

Training would far exceed that of campus supervisors, including state Bureau of Security and Investigative Services school security guard certification; baton and mace certification; first aid; certification in recognizing signs of drug and alcohol use; and how to safely handle any firearms found on campus.

A glance over the school security guard syllabus gives a peek at extensive regulations in campus security, from mandatory reporting of crimes and potential abuse, to search and seizure laws, rights of parents, student discipline laws and liability issues regarding students on and off campus.

Trustees will see a presentation by Ed Miller, the administrator in charge of discipline cases and attendance, that lists job responsibilities during a standard 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. day as much like those of school police officers, but stops short of issuing citations or making arrests. Security team members would have the added duty of patrolling junior highs and bus stops.

In other business, the board will get a presentation on enrollment showing a continuing slide for the district. This year the drop was 264 students in elementary grades and 88 in high school, but a slight increase of 39 junior high students. The figures trustees will see do not include special education or alternative education students, though the report notes the alternative student population is also down.

State figures that include all students show Modesto City Schools peaked in 2002-03 at 34,498 students. The district has lost ground every year since, ending 2013-14 with 29,948 students, or 13 percent lower.

Also on the agenda is a discussion of the audit for 2013-14. District accounting practices got a clean bill of health, but student body fundraisers need to get serious about following procedures, auditors said in their report. The same counsel appears in audits of most school districts.

This story was originally published January 17, 2015 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Modesto City Schools board to weigh in on security officers."