SC governor denied requested funds to employ more school resource officers

AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) – South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster wants nearly $30 million to hire and train school resource officers for schools that don’t currently have one.

177 out of 1,300 schools in South Carolina don’t have a full time School Resource Officer. Governor McMaster making changing that a top priority.

“At my request, the General Assembly began funding an SRO program- grant program administered by the Department of Public Safety. It provides school districts with funds to hire full time SRO’s for schools without one. This program has been enormously successful in 2018, only 406 schools had an SRO in 2024. It grew to 1,106,” the governor said in a recent press conference.

In WJBF’s viewing area, there are only 2 school districts that aren’t fully staffed with a full time SRO. According to the governor’s office, Aiken County needs them in 15 out of its 44 campuses and Bamberg County needs them in 1 out of 6.

Bamberg’s Superintendent, Dottie Brown told NewsChannel 6 that it’s not just about money saying: “In order for districts to be able to have full-time SRO’s, your local police or sheriff’s departments have to employ these officers and provide them to the schools.”

Brown said the district does employ private security to keep its students and staff safe.

“It’s sad the Governor’s request wasn’t fully granted, as trained SRO’s play a vital role in school safety. I will add that even though the amount of funds requested by Gov. McMaster were not fully approved, our district (like others) will continue to be resilient and find creative ways to fulfill these needs with the funds that are provided as we have done in the past,” Brown said in a statement. 

A spokesman for the Edgefield County School District agrees that full time SRO’s are vital to school safety.

“Having an officer there full time, allows the officer to get to know everyone. You know, they get to know the staff. They get to know the students. They get to know any situations that may come up in the school. And it really just it opens up the lines of communication,” said Mike Rosier, Public Information Officer for Edgefield Schools.

Lawmakers only granted $3.7 million of what Governor McMaster asked for. Brandon Charochak, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said “There should be no higher priority for the General Assembly than placing a school resource officer in the last 177 public schools without one. The governor will continue to urge the General Assembly to finish the job this year and protect the students, teachers, and staff at these remaining schools.”

Rosier said that lawmakers have to prioritize when they are setting the budget and hopes that soon it will include funding for more SRO’s.

“I don’t know how you could feel less safe with a school resource officer on campus, especially one that’s full time. And it’s just, like I said, just the reality of the times that we live in. And it’s unfortunate, but it is also real,” he added.

Governor McMaster has been working with lawmakers to make SRO funding a top priority since 2018. The state has funded 700 new officers since then.