HURLOCK, Md. - The town of Hurlock is asking for funding, so they can place a school resource officer in Hurlock Elementary.
The Mayor of Hurlock, Reverend Charles Cephas Sr. says, they want protection in their schools, before it's too late. "Safe. In one word, safe. That is the idea of the resource officer. It's that they have security and protection and they know that someone is there to protect them from any intrusion. Or, anyone that wants to cause harm or put them to be in danger. That would eliminate that fear," says Cephas.
Cephas says the safety of the kids and community is their top priority. Cephas says, "It's for the protection of our families and our children. If someone were able to get into the school, and you do not have a resource officer, teachers do not have weapons. Teachers are paid to teach. They are all at the mercy."
However, putting an officer in the school is no easy feat. For things like training, benefits, and officer salary, Chief of Police Bruce Jones, says it would be around 80 thousand dollars in funding. And, this is not the towns first time applying for the grant. Jones says, "This will be our third year trying to seek funding for a school resource officer. The cops grant, there are only very few that are given out each year. It's a very competitive grant. But, we are not going to give up."
If the grant was awarded to the town, the Police Department would still need to hire one more officer before they put one in Hurlock Elementary.