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Push For More SROs Continues In Rockingham County

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page gathers information in his office. He wants the county to provide additional funding for more school resource officers. KERI BROWN/WFDD

A plan to add more school resource officers in Rockingham County next school year has stalled. The board of commissioners has instead earmarked other funds to improve school safety in the county's new budget.

Dozens of people attended a public hearing this week to show their support for additional SROs in the school system. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page was among them. He urged commissioners to approve around $350,000 to hire the officers. Currently, there are five SROs in the district.

The board did not approve his request, but officials say they are studying the issue. They're also looking into possible state and federal grant opportunities that could help pay for more SROs in the future.

North Carolina lawmakers recently approved a state budget, which includes around $35 million for school safety.

Although the push for more SRO funding is on hold for now, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners has approved money for other safety improvements, including security cameras and a locking door system.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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