Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff-elect Kyle Miers is proposing a school resource officer task force to help provide security in all six public high schools and during athletic events.

Miers shared plans Tuesday with the Welsh Board of Alderman on how he plans to work with the Jeff Davis Parish School Board and local municipalities to form the task force and fund the program.

“I am reaching out to all cities that have police departments to develop an SRO task force where if there is a school inside a city that has a police department, if that police department can sacrifice – and I know that’s a big task, but if they can take one deputy or one officer for the SRO in the school,” Miers said.

“If we can do that, if every town that has a police department can give one officer for this task force, that will leave out Lacassine and Hathaway. The sheriff’s office will provide those two.”

The sheriff’s office will also provide a task force coordinator to oversee and coordinate the program, including conducting active shooter and other emergency response training.

He also hopes to add a shared SRO radio channel so all agencies can communicate.

Jeff Davis Parish currently has four SROs, but some of the officers may have to be removed because they are not certified, according to Miers. State law requires SROs to be certified by a state or national accredited school resource training facility.

The goal is to have a SRO in every single high school, he said. The program can be expanded to elementary and middle schools if funding becomes available, he said.

“We don’t want to leave the schools open and right now it is kind of being half-way done,” Miers said.

Miers and his administrative assistant Nick Ford are working with the school board to secure a $700,000 grant to provide SROs in the parish’s high schools.

School safety is a top priority and having a dedicated officer on campus to address safety concerns and prevent incidents can greatly improve it, Miers said. The presence of a SRO can change the way a student acts and makes them feel safer, he said.

Alderwoman Andrea King said having a police officer on campus can be good for students and help improve behavior problems and provide a role model.

“It’s a great idea, not only for school shootings, but the respect that’s lost for teachers, a cop there is going to change that,” Alderman Clint Hardy added.

Welsh Police Chief Marcus Crochet said the program is needed. He said one officer could easily cover the high school and elementary in Welsh because the campuses are connected.

Mayor Karl Arceneaux also voiced support for the program saying it is something that is needed to ensure school safety.