PHOENIX – Arizona legislators have approved spending $12 million Thursday to place 118 school resource officers (SROs) in 32 districts statewide.
The School Safety Program Oversight Committee, co-chaired by Senate Education Committee Chair Kimberly Lee, agreed to spend the funds for the upcoming school year on safety programs and to add SRO to 137 school sites across the state, ABC15 reports.
Additionally, three juvenile probation officers will join the 118 SROs.
About $7 million of the funding comes from Proposition 301, a school-funding initiative approved by voters in 2000. The remainder was approved by the Legislature in 2013 and 2014, The Republic reports.
Schools applied for the funds to add SROs to their schools through the Arizona Department of Education. Each school was awarded a score according to a need-based formula by the department. The School Safety Program Oversight Committee awarded money to schools with the highest scores.
For a list of schools that will receive SROs, click here.
