In their search for a new school resources officer, Hart Public Schools is considering contracting with the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO). Incoming superintendent for Hart Public Schools (HPS), Brad Jacobs, brought this discussion to the Oceana County Board of Commissioners at their July 9 regular meeting, alongside Undersheriff Ryan Schiller. Currently, the OCSO provides an SRO to Shelby Public Schools, while HPS has previously contracted the Hart City Police Department (HPD), a contract that expired with the end of the school year.
While HPD has approached the OCSO, they are in the process of interviewing a candidate from the city. However, as Jacobs explains, he and the school are “looking for a fit. It’s more important to me to have the right person rather than department,” which is why they are also interested in interviewing sheriff’s officers.
“It takes a special person to work with kids,” explained Jacobs, regarding the wide net the school is casting.
In hiring an SRO, the foremost concern is safety. “School safety is very important to me,” explained Jacobs. “Unfortunately back in 1990, when I first started teaching, safety was not on the forefront. It was teaching math and all that. Obviously, life changes. We adapt and go from there.”
With that in mind, Jacobs told commissioners that he is optimistic about their potential partnership and “doing everything we can to keep our kiddos safe.”
Chair Robert Walker thanked Jacobs for his due diligence in pursuing multiple options and agencies and expressed that any concerns he had over the matter were alleviated with the discussion. Undersheriff Schiller wrapped up the discussion by informing commissioners that, should any contract go forward with an OCSO SRO, that update would be brought forward to the next meeting.
Also in attendance at the regular meeting was Prosecutor Joseph Bizon for permission from the board to accept a grant expected to help clear case backlogs. Regarding the state of Oceana County’s criminal case backlog, Bizon explained, “I don’t think that we have what most people call a backlog. We are pretty efficient in our resolution of the matters that do come before us, but we have volume.”
He also said the applicants could be flexible with what counted as a "backlog" and how the funding could be used.
As such, the $95,593 awarded to the Oceana County Prosecutor’s Office will be used to reconfigure the office’s cubicle layout and contract a previous employee to help input cases into their system. Bizon also provided commissioners with an independent contractor employment form for approval. Both grant acceptance and the form were approved unanimously by commissioners.
Administrator Tracy Byard also presented commissioners with a draft press release explaining the separate tax limitations proposal on the August ballot. This ballot proposal includes standard millage renewals to departments and county services such as ambulance, sheriff’s office, airport and schools, as well as a Headlee Rollback of .25 mil. While discussing the ballot item’s language in April, commissioners were concerned that Oceana County voters would misunderstand that the item was a new millage costing 7.30 mills, rather than primarily consisting of renewals. The presented press release is part of an information campaign the county is undergoing to clarify the ballot to voters. As Byard explained to commissioners, the press release is “an informational piece only. We are not advocating for anyone to vote a certain way.”
Commissioners are, likewise, embarking on the education campaign in their day-to-day lives. “I engaged in a few conversations this week to dispel incorrect information, Commissioner Tim Beggs recounted.
