The Buchanan City Commission and Buchanan Community Schools have signed a memo of understanding to designate a school resource officer for the district this academic year.
City commissioners this week approved the arrangement, which they were told will be largely paid for with a grant awarded to the district. Still, Commissioner Dan Vigansky said this week he doesn’t fully support designating an SRO.
“I don’t see why an officer can’t walk through every school on a daily basis during the day and not have to allocate a special officer to take away,” Vigansky said.
Vigansky says he believes the program was handled poorly the last time it was done.
Commissioner Larry Money said the SRO program is worth pursuing.
“The cost that’s incurred through this is basically being absorbed by the school with very minimal cost to the city of Buchan,” Money said.
The cost for an SRO for one year is $70,000. $52,000 will be paid by the schools, and $17,000 will be paid by the township.
The Buchanan Police Department says in 2024, it responded to 110 incidents at Buchanan Community Schools. It’s had 73 incidents so far in 2025. And it says about 60% of those reports take up a “substantial amount of a patrol officer’s time.” Therefore, having a dedicated officer at the schools saves the time of other officers. Plus, it says the SRO serves as a first line deterrent to acts of violence.
Commissioners voted unanimously to support the program, with Vigansky stressing this is just for one year.
