MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The addition of extra security at Monongalia County Schools has just been given another green light.

The Monongalia County Board of Education (BOE) unanimously approved the hiring of five school safety officers (SSOs) less than a month after the Monongalia County Commission approved employment conditions to allow for the new positions in the school district. The officers will be hired for a total cost of $125,000 with plans to see the new hires at county schools before the end of January as part of a partnership with the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department.

“Monongalia County Schools will be hiring five new officers to serve as school safety officers, and that will complement the officers that we already have,” said Monongalia County Schools Deputy Superintendent Donna Talerico. “And that’s in cooperation with the sheriff’s department, and we’re really excited to partner with them,” she said.

The five new SSOs will be used for security details for school safety patrols before and after the start of regular school days. According to Talerico, the new hires, who will be interviewed, hired, and trained by the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, will be strictly used in the event of emergencies with an ability to be mobilized to different locations if needed (a stark contrast in comparison to school resource officers). The new SSO’s, who are a combination of retired police officers and military veterans who reside in the county, were hired in response to state lawmakers approving such positions in county school systems as part of an effort to increase security in the event of an emergency.

“The state opened up the possibility of bringing in former military individuals or retired police officers (to serve as SSOs), and they did open that door for us, and we greatly appreciate that,” Talerico said.

The new hires will fill positions that were left vacant through the Eastern Panhandle Instructional Collaborative (EPIC), the organization the school system has worked with to hire school security officers. According to Talerico, those positions remained unfilled for several months due to factors ranging from scheduling to liability insurance concerns, prompting the Monongalia County School System to speak with a combination of local lawmakers, law enforcement, and state officials to formally discuss SSOs. With the new hires expected to have plenty of experience to go along with training from the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, the school system felt this was a good direction to go regarding school safety.

“This is a way to really get good, qualified individuals,” said Talerico. “And because they’re not looking for full employment, we have more people, more applicants that would be interested,” she said.

According to Talerico, the new SSO’s are expected to be seen at Monongalia County Schools by the end of January 2025. Three out of the five officers will be eligible for immediate use by the county school system according to state code, with the remaining two expected to be seen in the coming months once they complete Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department-approved training. With the new hires now subject to approval by the Monongalia County Commission, one of the more vocal supporters for SSO’s, Talerico and the rest of the county school system hope to formally introduce the new SSO’s by the end of the week.

“Next week, we will see them out and about, in fact, this Friday they’ll be coming and making introductions at the schools (pending approval),” said Talerico. “And then, full steam ahead starting next week,” she said.

The three SSO hires eligible for immediate use by the county school system will be voted on for approval by the Monongalia County Commission during their regular meeting Wednesday.

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