By Richard Dyer
Twitter: @RHDyer

The salary and insurance for a full-time Apache Junction Police Department employee assigned as a resource officer at Apache Trail High School is to be funded for 3.5 years by a grant.

“Earlier on this year we were notified by the school principal ... They went forward and got a grant from the federal government authorizing them to hire a police officer [that] would cover 100% of his salary for a three-and-a-half-year time period,” Police Chief Thomas E. Kelly said at a recent City Council work session.

“As you all know, we’ve been trying to enhance the safety and wellbeing of the students while they are in class,” he said.

Following the 3.5 years, school officials hope to add the cost to their budget and continue with the program, Chief Kelly said.

“It’s a program we’ve been trying to get in many of our schools --- for obvious reasons and world affairs and things going on today --- but I think it’s a step forward and a move in the right direction,” he said.

An intergovernmental agreement with the American Charter Schools Foundation to provide a grant-funded officer was approved by the City Council March 17 in a vote on a consent agenda with other items.

The school will pay for the officer’s salary, medical and dental insurance, retirement and social security, according to a resolution.

The agreement spells out what that amount is for the first 1.5 years --- $32,674.00 for fiscal year 2019-20 and $117,757.00 for fiscal year 2020-21.

The pro-rated hourly rate cost of $51.05 for the officer for 2019-20, according to a document from AJPD’s Fiscal Management Bureau, includes:

• $28.60 an hour for 3.5 months, for a total of $18,303.
• $1,082 for industrial insurance.
• $11,227 for retirement system.
• $265 for Social Security.
• $1,797 for health dental, life, long-term-disability, cancer and unemployment insurances.

The pro-rated hourly rate cost of $56.61 for the officer for 2020-21 includes:

• $29.313 an hour for 12 months, for a total of $60,971
• $3,603 for industrial insurance.
• $39,745 for retirement system
• $884 for Social Security
• $12,554 for health dental, life, long-term-disability, cancer and unemployment insurances.

The school is also to pay 100% of any SRO overtime worked as the result of SRO-related functions.

‘Feeling safe on campus’

Apache Trail High School, 945 W. Apache Trail, has 180 students and a “B” rating from the Arizona Department of Education, ATHS Principal Terra Luckett said to the council at the work session March 16.

“We’re a ‘B’ school; we’re six points from an ‘A,’ but there are some things my kids need to move forward, and that is feeling safe on campus,” she said.

“The best fit for our campus is going to be Officer Ernest Eaton and he would be fully funded for three-and-a-half years with no cost to the city; but a big, big payout in the lives of my kids and in the lives that he is directly affecting,” she said.

Officer Eaton would be teaching 180 hours of criminal justice and/or a life-skills course, Ms. Luckett said.

“And with that community connection, we’re going to continue to hold onto the support of the SRO by continuing to apply for grants and also working it into the budget with the Title I funding so that we can sustain this relationship for a full amount of the time and extend it beyond that. We’re not looking for this to go away,” she said.

Councilmember Gail Evans asked if the high school is off in the summer or has extended times, such as with summer school.

“Yes. Our summer school is June 1-22 and we were asking that the officer be there during that time as well,” Ms. Luckett said.

“I just don’t want him to be bored,” Councilmember Evans said.

“Oh, he won’t be bored. There’s only 180 students; there’s only 14 staff and that’s everybody --- that’s lunch, that’s (a) driver and that’s me too included in that count,” Ms. Luckett said.

SRO for the school

AJPD Officer Eaton has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/sociology from the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota, where he played football as a running back, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He has been a police officer for eight years. Other experience includes working at the South Dakota Department of Corrections for two years as a correctional officer and Lutheran Social Services for one year as a youth counselor, it states in his profile.

AJPD is in the process of replacing Officer Eaton, Police Chief Kelly said at the council work session.

In addition to working as an SRO, Officer Eaton will be working in drunk-driving enforcement with overtime paid by the city, the chief said.

Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy said at the work session that he is concerned that the city is losing one of its best police officers.

“Chief, can we really be without one of our resident super cops? Can’t we give them an average cop? Why do we have to give them one of our best?” Mayor Serdy asked.

“Officer Eaton went through a process,” Police Chief Kelly said. “We had posted the opening for the school resource officer and then he was one of the candidates that moved forward to be interviewed by the principal.”

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley
@RHDyer

rdyer@iniusa.org

Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia, Inc.. USA, since 1987. Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. He also is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows