The Bienville Parish School Board approved the school resource officer (SRO) cooperative endeavor agreement for the next school year.
The BPSB will pay the Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office $300,000 for five SROs to cover each school in the parish with the exception of Bienville School.
The agreement was approved by the school board, with the exception of the name change from Dr. Byron Lyons to Acting Superintendent Leroy Hamilton. Hamilton said he is pleased with the agreement and that it is for the safety of the students, faculty and staff.
“I had a great meeting with Sheriff (John) Ballance,” he said. “I shared my thoughts and received answers to my questions. I’m glad we (the school board members and the sheriff’s office) agreed to protect our campuses and keep our students, faculty and staff safe.”
Ballance said with the training, equipment, salaries, health insurance and retirement, it’s expensive to make sure school campuses are safe.
He said the amount he asked for is not just about salaries, but about the equipment and other things as well. The sheriff’s office is replacing four units, and fully rigged out will cost approximately $77,000 each.
The agreement covers the next school year, from Aug. 8 until June 30, 2026. The duties and responsibilities cover a myriad of things that include patrolling campuses, “intervene in activities that may result in injury and encourage students to not participate in such conduct; serve as a role model for students’ behavior, attire and professional grooming; monitor the transition between classes and ensure a smooth flow of traffic through the hallways” and other duties listed in the agreement.
The agreement was tabled in April citing more time for discussion as their reason for moving it to the May meeting. At the time, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Byron Lyons was placed on leave with pay for up to 90 days, with Acting Superintendent of Schools Leroy Hamilton appointed to the position in the interim.
No information about what prompted the investigation was disclosed.