Jackson city and schools partnership plays important role

Normally, this week would be the first day of school for the Jackson R-2 School District and I would be reminding everyone to drive extra carefully in the Jackson area as traffic increases with buses, parents, and students traveling to and from classes. I will still ask you to drive safely and be patient because both the St. Paul Lutheran and Immaculate Conception Catholic Schools start this week. Jackson R-2 will start Wednesday, Aug, 22 due to a delayed opening of one week to give the contractors extra time to finish up the major additions and renovation projects at the new freshmen center, the Middle School, and West Lane Elementary.

Last week, I attended a breakfast held for the new teachers in the district sponsored by Montgomery Bank at their new Training and Conference Center located at 526 W. Main St. The district added 25 new teacher positions this year in order to reduce class size. You could tell they are a bright and eager group who are excited about educating our most valuable asset, our kids. I was honored to be one of the speakers to welcome the new teachers, and I spoke proudly about the city's partnership with the district.

The Jackson R-2 School District is the largest employer in the city with more than 700 employees. Its facilities are one of the largest customers of city services and users of public infrastructure. The district covers 285 square miles and is home to more than 5,000 students, which increases annually. The school has an expense budget of $50 million which makes the district a big driver of our local economy. Included in this number are food services that serves more than 4,000 meals a day and the bus system which covers 3,700 miles a day.

The solid partnership is important to both the City of Jackson and the district and covers many different areas. For example, the city park system is used by various Jackson Indians sports teams. Many times, the district cooperates with the city on improvements to these facilities. The partnership also includes working together to solve parking and traffic flow issues around the various campuses. The new traffic lanes and stop signs around the new freshmen center and St. Paul Lutheran School is an example.

The partnership also includes the city's police and fire departments communicating constantly with school leaders to assure the ongoing safety of our students. One of the most important programs is the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program. The SRO program provides for commissioned police officers assigned to work in the schools on a daily basis. The SROs, like other adults in authority positions, play an essential role in ensuring the best possible development of children and the safest possible environment for students.

The officers are in charge of creating an overall environment of safety and security at school campuses. Most importantly, they respond to any act of violence that poses a threat to students and the faculty. The officers also play a part in numerous activities associated with the district. These include attending many extracurricular activities, such as sporting events for security and crime deterrence. Building better relationships between the students and officers are major benefits of this initiative.

Approximately 75 percent of the cost of the officers are paid for by the school district with the city covering the balance. Presently, there are four SROs to cover more than 5,000 students and teachers in the Jackson R-2 District School system, and a fifth SRO will be added in 2019.

I am looking forward to a great school year full of sporting events and other extracurricular activities.

Dwain Hahs serves as mayor of the City of Jackson. He can be reached at mayorhahs@jacksonmo.org.