BROWNSTOWN
The three Brownstown school buildings will continue to have a police presence in 2018.
Superintendent Greg Walker recently announced Brownstown Central Community School Corp. is among the recipients of a Safe Haven grant through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
The corporation will receive $15,570 to help cover part of School Resource Officer John Reichenbacker’s salary and benefits. He works for the Brownstown Police Department and is employed by the town.
Walker said he applied for $30,000, but most applicants received about half of what they requested. He said around $630,000 was awarded out of the nearly $1.2 million requested.
Reichenbacker’s job consists of traffic control in the mornings at the elementary school, teaching the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program and doing walkthroughs and security checks.
He also conducts criminal investigations related to issues that happen inside or outside school, giving him an opportunity to connect with and help kids who need it.
“I just think it’s very important for that relationship that he develops with the kids,” Walker said. “A lot of times, they just see police when somebody is breaking the law, but they get the opportunity to develop that rapport with an officer in that kind of setting.
“Also, as a community, it kind of puts them at ease to know there’s an officer around to make sure the buildings are secure and safe, just a sense of peace, I think,” he said.
Brownstown Police Chief Tom Hanner said the grant will cover about a fourth of Reichenbacker’s salary and benefits. He said sacrifices will have to be made with the police department’s budget to come up with the rest.
Brownstown didn’t receive any grant funding for the school resource officer for this year, resulting in the town’s six police officers not receiving raises. Hanner still made it a priority to have Reichenbacker at the schools as much as possible, even paying him overtime to do so.
“We didn’t want to leave the kids uncovered,” Hanner said.
“Chief Hanner and the police department, they’ve been super-good,” Walker said. “Even when the grant ran out, he said, ‘We’re still going to be in the schools. We’re going to make an effort to serve you,’ and I really appreciate it. He has done a nice job with that.”
From 2014 to 2016, about two-thirds of the Brownstown school resource officer’s salary and benefits were covered through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s Secured School Safety grants.
That program was built into the state budget in 2013 in response to discussions on school safety after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012. During that incident, a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six teachers and staff members.
The amount each district could apply for depended on student enrollment. School corporations and charter schools with at least 1,000 students were eligible for up to $50,000, while smaller districts could apply for up to $35,000.
Along with helping pay a school resource officer’s salary, the grant money could be used to purchase security equipment, such as surveillance cameras, or conduct a threat assessment if there were weaknesses in emergency plans.
In 2013, Brownstown received $49,400 to create a school resource officer position and secure entrances at all three school buildings for the 2014 calendar year. The school corporation then received about $30,000 in 2015 and 2016.
After no funding was received in 2017, Walker decided to apply for the new opportunity from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
The town council has approved adding a seventh officer to the force allowing Reichenbacker to be at the schools more. Hanner said he will be meeting with Walker to determine scheduling.
Hanner said the priority for many police departments is keeping kids safe, and the community also has expressed a desire to have an officer at the schools.
“Parents trust when their kids go to school that the school system not only is educating them but is keeping them safe,” he said. “That comes down on us, as well.”
When school is in session, Brownstown’s population of nearly 3,000 people increases because students come in from outside town limits.
Plus, Hanner said the police department’s annual call volume has more than doubled from where it was 10 years ago, going from about 1,000 to more than 2,400. Last year, a detective was added for the first time because of the level of crime that is occurring.
“You can’t maintain the same number of officers,” Hanner said. “You have to step up to the plate, and that’s what we’re trying to do. (Children) are our most valuable asset. We’re going to give an officer up, we’re going to do whatever it takes and we’re going to make this happen.”