Libby schools to again seek funding for resource officer

School officials in Libby will ask voters to approve a resource officer at the ballot box once more.

Police Chief Scott Kessel announced the school district’s decision to try anew at a Feb. 3 Libby City Council meeting. The chief told city councilors the proposal going before voters in May likely would look similar to last year’s attempt.

Kessel publicly supported the 2019 proposal. Backers hoped to cover about 30 percent of the officer’s salary through a limited grant from Flathead Electric Cooperative. The rest would come from a proposed mill levy that would have raised the tax bill, for example, by an estimated $7.44 on property assessed at $100,000.

Voters defeated the measure 1,141 to 906.

Libby Superintendent Craig Barringer said changes, including to the way the state funds local schools, means it’s too early to say what the position will add to an individual taxpayer’s bill. But school officials expect they will need $70,000 a year to fund the position were it approved.

Flathead Electric Cooperative has again offered a grant to pay for about 30 percent of the position’s salary — upwards of $100,000 over five years, Barringer said.

“I appreciate that Flathead Electric hasn’t given up on us, the school district or the city, to provide a much needed service,” he said.

The Libby School Board is expected to vote to put the proposal on the ballot in the coming days, according to Barringer. They can always remove it at a later date, but to ensure it goes before voters, the board must approve the proposal by March 1, he said.

Most large school districts in the region boast a school resource officer, Barringer said. Each of the districts competing against Libby High School in the Northwest Division of Class A athletics has a resource officer, for example, he said.

“That’s not the reason to have one,” Barringer said. “They can do a lot of preventative things — be proactive and not reactive. Right now, our police do a really good job of working with the schools, but it tends to be as needed, so it tends to be reactive.”

Security is now a major concern for public school officials, the superintendent said. When the district’s buildings were erected in the 1960s and ’70s, fire safety was prioritized rather than the danger posed by an intruder, meaning the structures featured plenty of entries and exits.

“The most important thing we need to do is make sure they’re safe,” Barringer said, speaking of the district’s children. “We do a good job of that but that [resource officer] would help.”

At least one member of city council was caught unawares by the news. After the Feb. 3 meeting, City Councilor Rob Dufficy questioned whether the salary for the position would eventually come out of the city coffer.

Barringer said that if voters approve the position, funding would come from the school district. School officials would reimburse the city for the salary and benefits of an additional officer, he said.

Making the case for the advantages of funding the position and stopping the spread of misinformation are foremost among the lessons Barringer said he and his fellow supporters took to heart in 2019.

“We learned a lot,” he said. “For one thing, we need to get the information out earlier. We need to do a better job of ensuring our taxpayers that it’s going to be money well spent. Obviously, we didn’t do that last year.”