Students, faculty, parents, law enforcement, and city representatives joined together in front of Pell City High School to pray for their city. Photo submitted

While the process has yet to be completed, the City Council for Pell City has approved funding for additional school resource officers.

The plan is for the city to provide funding for an additional three officers, with the hope schools will provide funding for three more on top of that, to bring the total to eight SROs in the school system.

This would guarantee one SRO at every campus under the Pell City Schools umbrella.

The funding for the two SROs currently in place have been funded by Pell City for “a long time” according to Jud Alverson, head of the City Council for Pell City.

With school safety of utmost necessity, Alverson recognizes the need.

“School safety is obviously super important,” Alverson said. “It was mutually agreed upon we needed to put an emphasis on this. The city wanted to help out with this, funding SROs.”

Alverson said that while they have approved their end, other parties involved in funding the SROs may look towards “other potential sources” of funds to bring the total to eight in the school system.

“In principle, we are splitting the cost of six new ones (SROs),” Alverson said. “The city is going to fund an additional three to help the school system get to a place where there is an SRO full time at each and every school.”

Adam Dodson may be reached at adamd@athensnews-courier.com.