After listening to concerns from parents and educators, Kane County Sheriff Donald Kramer has reassigned personnel within the Sheriff’s Office to allow individual school resource officers to be assigned to Kaneland Community School District 302 and Burlington Central Community Unit School District 301 schools effective this week.

Classes for Kaneland and Burlington Central start Wednesday, Aug. 24.

Kramer had suggested removing resource officers from the schools in order to boost patrols. At the Aug. 9 Kane County Board meeting, he said the Sheriff’s Office is facing as many as 17 vacancies due to such issues as workers’ compensation, military leave, retirements and resignations. He reconsidered after hearing input from Kaneland and Central school officials, parents and students who attended the Aug. 9 Kane County Board meeting.

Kane County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Director Pat Gengler said the Sheriff’s Office “values the community input it has received and will continue to keep an open line of communication with all Kane County citizens.”

“Staffing shortfalls still exist at the Sheriff’s Office, and there will be days where one or both of the School Resource Officers will need to be reassigned to supplement staffing levels in the Patrol Division,” Gengler said. “This situation is not ideal; and the ultimate goal has been and is to have a full-time School Resource Officer assigned to Kaneland Community School District 302 and Burlington Central Community Unit School District 301.”

School District 301 said on its online blogspot that the district values the onsite SRO for many reasons: An officer is present in the event of an emergency, assists with safety planning and drills, provides traffic control on rural roads and supervision of after school events. The blog says both Kaneland and Central school districts pay 50 percent of the SRO’s salary and benefits.

“Both districts have maintained a positive, long-standing partnership with the Sheriff’s Office and have collaborated on numerous projects including crisis response planning, school safety drills and the use of district facilities for officer trainings,” School District 301 said.

About the Kane County Sheriff’s Office

It is the mission of the Kane County Sheriff’s Office to maintain peace in Kane County communities and protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens. Sheriff’s Office employees will accomplish this mission by providing effective and efficient services with moral and ethical integrity. All citizens can be expected to be treated with equal justice and compassion for their needs. For more information, visit the Kane County Sheriff’s Office website and KaneSheriff’s Facebook page.