Officers, constables approved for every Cape school

Resource officers and constables will be present in every Cape district school beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, after a unanimous board vote May 11.

Cape Superintendent Bob Fulton recommended hiring one additional school resource officer and six constables to ensure each school has a law enforcement officer on site.

These officers would be in addition to the Delaware State Police SROs at Cape High and at the Sussex Consortium, and the Rehoboth Beach Police Department officer at Rehoboth Elementary, he said. 

The district had previously requested an additional SRO through the state, he said, and is awaiting confirmation in the final budget in June.

This is the perfect time to move quickly to increase security personnel due to relaxed rules regarding state funding uses, Fulton said.

The new SRO will be placed at Mariner Middle, he said, and a lead constable will be placed at a location to be determined.

Fulton said he recommends one more officer be hired than he originally recommended to the board April 27 based on feedback stating additional personnel would be needed in the case of days off or absences.

With the plan, the current SRO at Cape High would not have to travel to other schools and would be joined by a new constable, he said. The Sussex Consortium SRO would also be able to remain on site, he said.

New constables would be placed at Beacon Middle and at H.O. Brittingham, Milton, Lewes and Love Creek elementaries.

Constable job postings were listed May 12, Fulton said, and he would recommend candidates at the June 13 school board retreat so that any needed training could begin quickly. 

Constables will join the school safety committee and assist with drills, evacuations and traffic issues, he said. They will monitor interior and exterior doors and windows, assist in hallways, remove students from classrooms if necessary, and provide input on the code of conduct that is revised annually, he said.

Fulton said he is in continuing conversations with the City of Lewes and Lewes Police Chief Thomas Spell regarding the town hiring an officer to work at a Lewes school, likely Frederick D. Thomas Middle School when it opens in fall 2024. 

If that doesn’t happen, he said, the district will either request another SRO from the state or hire another constable.

The district expects to receive at least $416,000 in a safety and security grant from the state to go toward funding the personnel, he said, and another $300,000 in local funding would be used if the state grant is not enough.