Thanks to a pending partnership between the district and the City of Carroll, the Carroll Community School District (CCSD) could soon have a dedicated school resource officer (SRO). During last night’s (Wednesday) city budget work session, Police Chief Brad Burke presented his department’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 preliminary budget, which included plans to add a new officer to the roster to serve as an SRO.
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While an agreement between the city and the school is still being negotiated, Burke says most of the contract’s framework is already settled.
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Current plans are to only have an SRO for CCSD. Burke says they did approach Kuemper Catholic with the offer, and the parochial school will have the option to participate in the future if they choose, but that would require the addition of another officer. Seventy percent of the approximately $114,000 annual cost, or $80,000, would be covered by the district, with the remaining 30 percent funded by the city. Ward 4 Councilwoman Carolyn Siemann questioned Burke on the SRO’s role when class is not in session.
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According to Burke, the department is called to one of the district’s four buildings around four to five times per week, so a dedicated officer will have plenty to keep them busy.
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Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau says most schools in the Raccoon River Conference have SROs, and they have proven beneficial for those districts.
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Both the district and the city have the expense included in their FY26 budgets, and barring any changes, CCSD could see a dedicated SRO as soon as the Fall 2025 semester.