The Wynne School District has secured the staff and vehicles needed to create an institutional law enforcement agency.
The Wynne School Board agreed to hire a chief and three other school resource officers for the agency during its February meeting last week. The district hired Michael Hinton as chief on a 240-day contract as well as resource officers Brittney Eskridge, DeAndre Warren, and Nick Owens.
Wynne Schools Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Moore noted the district received a grant to pay for one SRO for three years, and will add that position immediately.
“Having an SRO at every building is a positive,” Dr. Moore told KWYN. “We can’t say thank you enough to our city for all they’ve done. … The support they’ve given us through the years in building the SRO program from one to three this year. We’re thankful for them, and looking forward to these officers.”
The board approved the SRO salary schedule and agreed to purchase three vehicles for the agency – a 2014 Ford Taurus that will be fully equipped with a cage, and a 2014 Ford Explorer and 2015 Explorer.
Members also continued discussions on a weapons detection system. Dr. Moore said the district is currently exploring a system called OpenGate, which can be adjusted for what it detects.
“It’s not just a metal detector,” Dr. Moore said. “You can make it not go off on keys, or a certain size or density of the metal that comes through.”
In other news, the Wynne School Board approved a waiver to provide more flexibility for the school calendar; agreed to become a “Bright Futures” community; and corrected hourly sub pay for the PRN nurse. The board accepted the resignations of Karen Parker, Special Ed/Intermediate, and William Vance, head maintenance, effective at the end of the year; and Larry Askeland, warehouse/grocery delivery, effective Jan. 24.
Members also approved contract renewals for the 2024-2025 school year; hired Sabrina Parker as bus aide, Russell Courtney as maintenance supervisor (effective Feb. 20), and Crystal Ables, 6.5-hour cafeteria (effective Feb. 5), and after-school program SPED faculty and administration.
The board also received a presentation on Wynne Primary School data and heard Wynne Primary science teacher Kim Armstrong and students Luellen Clegg, Everett Meredith, James Nickerson, and Journee Nickerson.
The Wynne School Board will next meet on Monday, March 11.
