The Barrow County Government has announced a new tri-party school resource officer (SRO) agreement.
The agreement is between the Barrow County Board of Commissioners, the Board of Education, and the Sheriff’s Office.
It expands on the previous 2017 agreement, going from 12 SROs to 25 SROs and outlines the responsibilities of all three parties.
The agreement has the school system reimbursing the county for 100% of its cost for salaries and benefits paid to SROs. Extra duty pay for special events outside of school hours will be covered by the school system as well to the tune of $60-per-hour. The agreement begins on July 1 of this year and runs to June 30 of 2027 and will auto-renew unless a party submits a written notice of non-renewal 120 days prior to the term’s expiration.
“Funding the Sheriff’s Office has always been one of the top priorities for the Board of Commissioners, and contrary to rumors and other reports, funding for the SRO program was, is and will continue to be included in the Sheriff’s Office budget,” Barrow County Spokesperson Brian Stewart said. “The Board of Commissioners remains committed to funding public safety through Fire, Emergency Medical Services, 911, and the Sheriff’s Office, and recognizes that school safety goes beyond just SROs.”
The SRO funding has been a point of contention in Barrow County, with the Board of Education announcing it would cover 100% of the salaries and benefits back in July 2025.
That was after June 2025 reports that the Barrow County Government would reduce funding in the wake of the deadly Apalachee High School shooting.
A citizen also currently has an appeal in the state court system regarding a July 8 meeting regarding the addition of a vague cost reimbursement item to the meeting’s agenda right before the approval of the agenda. The item ended up being the full divestment from the School Resource Officer (SRO) program beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
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