Number of law enforcement officers at SC schools has skyrocketed under McMaster

DUNCAN, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina has hit a major milestone aimed at keeping kids safe at school, fulfilling one of Gov. Henry McMaster’s priorities dating back to his early days in office.

At a press conference Wednesday in Spartanburg County, McMaster joined state and local law enforcement and legislators to announce South Carolina has allocated enough money for every public school in the state to hire a full-time school resource officer, or SRO.

“There’s nothing better that you could allocate funding for than for safety and children, and with this, the state allows us to put it together,” Duncan Police Chief Ben Cox said.

This year’s state budget includes the final piece of money — an additional $29.4 million — needed to fund salaries, training, and equipment for at least one armed, certified SRO in all schools.

“For years, we have made it our mission to ensure that every student, teacher, and staff member is protected by an armed, certified, full-time school resource officer in every school, in every county, all day, every day – and now we have finished the job," McMaster said. “This achievement makes South Carolina a national leader in school safety and provides us all peace of mind knowing our schools are protected.”

McMaster’s office said the move has been a priority since 2018. During that time, officials said the General Assembly has steadily increased funding. Management of the program was later transferred from the South Carolina Department of Education to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Since 2019, the number of schools in the state with one of these law enforcement officers on campus every day has skyrocketed from 406 to now, nearly 1,200..

Just 119 of South Carolina’s 1,283 schools lacked their own SRO at the start of this school year, but money is available for when they find the right hire.

McMaster’s office also said SCDPS has awarded funding for nearly 60 new SRO positions since receiving funding in July. Earlier this month, the agency also began hiring for the remaining 119 positions.

McMaster was joined on Wednesday by state lawmakers and other officials.

“You can’t just go and find somebody and say, ‘Hey, here’s some money, go be a school resource officer,’” said Sen. Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg, whom McMaster said was pivotal in ensuring this funding goal was met this year. “You’ve got to have the passion and the heart and the love for children and what you’re doing, like Tommie standing behind me.”

“The funding is now in place to put an SRO in every remaining school across the state, and that is exactly what we are going to do,” added SCDPS Deputy Director Mike Oliver. “Our priority is keeping kids safe, and we are fortunate to have an administration that looks out for our teachers and law enforcement.”

Cpl. Tommie Brooks, the SRO at Tyger River Elementary School in Spartanburg District Five, said he is glad every school will be able to have someone like him on campus daily.

His district already has those positions filled at all schools.

“Students can’t learn and teachers can’t teach in an unsafe environment,” Brooks said.

The governor vowed to keep pushing for school safety upgrades, and he’s taking ideas.

“We want to listen to the teachers, the administrators, and parents and see what they say,” McMaster said. “You’re never finished with this. The world changes, technology changes. We have to always be listening and working hard.”

Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.