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Mountain Home Police Chief Eddie Griffin notified City Council that he was moving forward with a new SRO hire for the Mountain Home Kindergarten after a brief update from Mayor Adams on Mountain Home Public School District’s request for help in funding during last Thursday’s regular council meeting.
Griffin said that one of his patrol officers had agreed to a pay cut to become the district’s seventh SRO after Lieutenant Eddie Helmert retires from his position at the end of this month. Helmert is taking on a new full-time job at MHPS following his retirement.
Griffin will hire a new patrol officer to fill his place. If funding for the district’s last SRO is not worked out between the city and MHPS next year, then Griffin could be forced to let the new SRO go, even after the agreed-upon pay cut.
Mayor Adams said he would do everything in his power to prevent the potential layoff, stating that the city has prided itself on not letting go of good employees, even during hard times. Adams mentioned that the city had made cuts in other places in the past to ensure that it did not have to lay off its employees.
Griffin currently has funding for the SRO position until the end of the year when the City of Mountain Home rolls over into its next fiscal year. MHPS will roll over into its new budget on July 1.
Adams and Griffin said that Dewey had applied for a grant to cover the district’s portion of the SRO position but would not know if the district would receive the grant until later this year.
MHPS is currently facing a $1 million budget deficit following the implementation of the LEARNS Act. The district currently has a 50/50 agreement with the City of Mountain Home to pay for its SROs but is now asking the city to provide additional funding for its latest position due to its deficit.
During the update, members of City Council appeared understanding of the situation. City Councilwoman Jennifer Baker briefly mentioned the LEARNS Act and how the cost of the state’s mandated salary raises for teachers was hurting school budgets across the state.
City Councilwoman Susan Stockton said she wanted to ensure that the district understood that the district’s request was a one-time request if they were to go through with it. City Councilman Wayne Almond said he was supportive of the SRO program and that, after several discussions with Mountain Home Superintendent Allyson Dewey, she was sincere that the district was going to do everything in its power to work out its budget issues.
Almond also noted that the 50/50 split is only for the officer’s payroll. He said that the split is actually 60/40 when you factor in uniforms and equipment.
City Councilman Bob Van Haaren brought up concerns over having to lay off an SRO halfway through the school year and said he would like to at least look into funding the position through June 2025.
The council took no action or vote following its discussion.
