Laguna Beach Unified updates agreement with the city to provide 2 school resource officers

A modified agreement between Laguna Beach Unified and the city will make it possible to assign a second officer to patrol the community’s four public schools.

The school board approved an update to its agreement with the Laguna Beach Police Department Tuesday that will change the formula that funds both school resource officer positions.

The district approved the original agreement with the LBPD in August 2018. That pact required that the city pay all but $25,000 of the $220,000 annual cost.

The newly modified memorandum of understanding splits the cost evenly between the school and the district to pay for total compensation — salary and benefits — for the two full-time officers as well as expenses related to their vehicles. The district will continue to receive a $25,000 credit toward the cost of the first officer.

Both resource officers will share the workload and provide coverage across the four schools during both the regular academic year and summer school, Capt. Jeff Calvert said.

The expansion of the school resource officer program follows a September request made by El Morro Elementary School parents who wanted the city to look into annexing the unincorporated land below El Morro Elementary School, saying they would prefer that city police exclusively serve the school — an assignment then shared with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

In October, the City Council approved a resolution acknowledging authorization from the Sheriff’s Department for Laguna Beach to provide police services to the campus at at 8681 N. Coast Hwy.

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