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NORA KOCHA federal grant will let a police officer split time between Tarpon's elementary schools, teaching safety while serving as a positive role model.
TARPON SPRINGS - There will soon be a new uniform in the city's elementary schools - not for students, but on an on-duty police officer.
Last week the Police Department was awarded a competitive federal grant to staff the city's three elementary schools with a school resource officer.
The $125,000 award will pay the salary for the new position, which will divide the officer's time between the three schools to assist with traffic, student crime and teaching about safety.
But having a police presence among the city's youngest students will serve as much more than a safeguard for students, said Mayor Beverley Billiris, a former elementary school teacher.
"It's about them being a "good cop,"' Billiris said. "It's not about patrolling and looking for the negative. It's about being a positive role model and offering assistance when it's needed."
The three elementary schools, Tarpon Springs, Tarpon Springs Fundamental and Sunset Hills, which enroll a total of about 1,600 students, had 85 suspensions in the 2002-03 school year, according to the Police Department's grant application.
Of those, 26 suspensions were for insubordination, 21 were for battery on other students, 11 were for fighting, four were for battery on an adult and one was for weapons.
"The earlier the intervention is, the better chances you have in steering them in the right direction when they get older," said Tarpon Springs police Sgt. Jeff Young, who authored the grant.
The officer will work along with counselors and others with conflict mediation, mentoring, truancy and other problem-solving projects, and will teach programs in classrooms on age-appropriate issues such as bullying, peer pressure and strangers.
During school breaks, the officer will be assigned to police and community programs that involve youth and will chaperone kids to activities as rewards for community contributions, like neighborhood cleanups.
The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, was part of $35.2-million given to 73 law enforcement agencies in 30 states to hire 285 school resource officers.
Tarpon Springs was one of four Florida agencies to receive the grant.
Other recipients were the Leon County Sheriff's Office, Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office and North Miami Beach Police Department.
The $125,000 grant will pay the position's salary and benefits for three years. It requires Tarpon Springs to pay for a fourth year.
"Hopefully, once the benefits of such a position are realized, the local government will be more inclined to set aside the funds to retain the position for more than one year," said Gilbert Moore, spokesman for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Justice Department.
The new position will increase the Tarpon Springs force to 48 sworn officers.
Already the department has a significant presence in local schools.
An officer is assigned to the middle school and teaches in many classrooms.
About 15 officers are involved in the Community Officers in Public Schools program, where they teach in more than 40 elementary classrooms.