Problem Solvers: Parent’s proposal would put an officer at every Bend-La Pine school, but cost and staffing remain hurdles
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Community members are pushing for expanded safety measures following a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School that killed three students and a teacher. In response, a preliminary proposal has emerged to expand the local School Resource Officer program across the district.
The School Resource Officer program currently operates as a joint effort between Bend-La Pine Schools, the Bend Police Department and the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, utilizing six officers across district schools. The new proposal outlines adding 25 officers and one floater to ensure a dedicated officer is stationed at every school in the district.
Initial estimates put annual expansion costs at $4.2 million
Under baseline estimates assuming an average employment cost of $162,500 per officer for salary, insurance and equipment, the expansion would cost roughly $4.2 million annually. The school district currently splits SRO program costs 50-50 with law enforcement agencies. Divided among students, that baseline estimate equates to about $126 per student annually, or slightly more than $10.50 per month.
Parent hopes proposal will spark a safety discussion
Adam O'Connell, a Bend-La Pine school parent, put the proposal forward to turn community concern into actionable discussion. “I mean, I can't see a negative point if we've already determined that we need eight and that they are value to the school system. Why can't we have more? More has to be better,” O'Connell said. He emphasized that the draft proposal is intended to start a tangible conversation regarding long-term student safety rather than serve as a final plan.
Police staffing shortages pose a major obstacle
However, financial funding is not the only obstacle to expanding the program. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz stated that his department is facing significant staffing shortages and currently lacks the personnel needed to fulfill the proposal. “It's not that I think there's a question of sometimes we'll just here's here's the money hire than the the the difficult part for us is we're we we need to hire 22 police officers right now just to patrol our city and work in our units that take daily calls for service. We're down significant staffing,” Krantz said. Krantz added that the department also lacks five sergeants required to manage the expanded team.
Higher officer costs could raise the total to $6.25 million
Krantz noted that actual costs per officer—when accounting for vehicles, specialized training and equipment—would sit closer to $250,000 per officer. That adjustment brings the total proposal cost to $6.25 million, leaving the school district's half at $3.125 million. Under current local property tax rates, the plan would cost approximately $65 per household in Bend, or $187 per student annually if funded directly through parent fees.
Training capacity limits rapid expansion
Training constraints present a further barrier to rapid implementation. Krantz explained that even if candidate applications spiked immediately, the department's capacity limits annual training throughput. “If magically tomorrow I got 30 people who said I want to be a police officer right now and they passed every test. And and we brought them in. We couldn't even train that many people annually in a year to get people ready to do the work. And we can train about 10 to 12 people a year successfully through our department,” Krantz said.
New tax funding would require voter approval
Any proposal requiring new tax revenue must undergo a formal public approval process. The earliest opportunity for voters to consider a tax measure would be May of next year, with approved funds not reaching the school district until property tax payments are collected in November.
Adam O'Connell Proposal:
