A school resource officer from Apache Junction Police Department will again work at Apache Trail High School under a recently approved agreement.
The Apache Junction City Council on June 20 voted unanimously in a consent agenda with other items to approve an amendment to a 2020 intergovernmental agreement with American Charter Schools Foundation doing business as Apache Trail High School, 945 W. Apache Trail.
The school is to pay the full cost of staffing the school resource officer including benefits in an amount not to exceed $190,000. The school applied for a three-year grant to continue to fund the program that was approved in late May 2023 by the Arizona Department of Education, the new agreement states.
The agreement for May 12, 2020-May 31, 2023 is to be extended three years and in effect June 1, 2023-May 31, 2026.
The extended agreement calls for a sworn Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board-certified officer to work as a full-time school resource officer at the school.
“I’m thrilled about having our SRO at Apache Trail,” Councilmember Peter Heck said at a council work session June 19. “I know we have several others but I am a proponent of getting more of them if we can. I realize there’s some expense involved. I am glad we have this established agreement here with Apache Trail.”
City Manager Bryant Powell said he was in favor of having school resource officers.
“We’re very pleased too that we have these relationships with the local schools and hope that we can continue to have more,” he said.
Apache Junction Police Chief Michael Pooley said there have been school resource officers at Apache Trail High School and in the Apache Junction Unified School District.
“We’ve prevented bad things from happening and we’ve continued to build positive relationships,” he said of the SRO program.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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