Central Unified board votes to add 2 officers to middle schools

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Central Unified School Board has decided to add two more officers to their middle schools.

The vote was 5-to-2 at last night's board meeting.

One officer will be assigned to Glacier Point Middle School, while the second officer would split time between El Capitan and Rio Vista Middle Schools.

The district will pay 95 percent of the officers' salaries and the city would pay the other five percent.

RELATED: FUSD Board of Trustees votes to have officers on middle school campuses

The officers will cost Central Unified about $333,000 annually, and officers would be on campus at the start of the school year.

Deputy Chief Reid said officers are not on campus to arrest students and will be required to track positive interactions with students and who initiated the interaction.

He said given recent events, including the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, he feels like more school districts and community members are encouraging officers on campus.