Chandler board OKs school resource officer contract

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Chandler Unified’s Governing Board will have at least nine school resource officers for the rest of the 2026-27 school year.

The CUSD board’s decision, usually approved without much discussion, wasn’t a unanimous one this time.

Board President Patti Serrano was the lone “no” vote when the board approved a one-year intergovernmental agreement with the city of Chandler for school resource officers at the nine CUSD middle and high schools within the city.

The cost to the district for the nine school resource officers for one year is “estimated” to be $1.633 million, said Assistant Superintendent Mike De La Torre. The annual School Safety Program Grant is expected to pick up an equal amount for the other half of the cost.

Serrano explained that her vote against it was based partly on the idea of no longer committing to new district costs without limits, since the cost of the nine Chandler officers is only an estimate. A zero grant in any year would mean the city and CUSD would split the remaining $1.633 million needed to fund the nine positions.

“Should total SRO costs exceed the estimated grant amount, CUSD and City of Chandler agree to share those costs, equally,” a staff report states.

“It’s no secret that we’re in a time of significant budget reductions,” Serrano said. “Those are concerns that I continue to have with the ROI (return on investment) for this program.”

The district must also still renew agreements with the towns of Gilbert and Queen Creek. Perry High School is one of the CUSD secondary schools that’s in the town of Gilbert; Casteel High School and Casteel Junior High and Payne Junior High School are among the district’s campuses in Queen Creek.

Those contracts are expected to be presented at an upcoming CUSD board meeting. The board is set to meet only once in September, on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.  Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.