Gingery Introduces Bill For School Resource Officers

In the wake of recommendations from President Barack Obama to address security following the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut, Teton County Representative Keith Gingery is drafting a bill to be introduced early next week which would provide funds from the State to school districts to help defray the cost of school resource officers. Currently, Gingery says Teton County School District pays both the County Sheriff and the Town of Jackson for a portion of the salaries of the school resource officers at the high school and the middle school. Gingery says it’s not just for security, but a school resource officer does many other things from going into the kindergarten classes to talk about “stranger danger” to investigating crime at the high school.  Says Gingery “It’s been a very effective program in Teton County and I think others in the state would like to use the same model.”  Gingery says while Jackson already has such a program in place, the bill would benefit the local school district by making specific funding available from the state for what is now locally funded.  Meanwhile, Gingery is sponsoring another bill to enable gunshot wounds to be reported by medical providers to local law enforcement authorities so that it can be investigated or help can be provided to the victim if it was self-inflicted.