By John Raffel
Correspondent
MARION – Marion Board of Education voted to hire a full time liaison officer at the school board meeting last Tuesday (June 28).
“This officer will be a deputy from Osceola County,” superintendent Danyel Prielipp said. “The school will get to interview the interested candidates and make a decision that is a good fit for Marion. The officer will be active with both the elementary and the high school students. We are extremely excited about this new venture.”
Prielipp said there are various goals behind having this position:
“To develop a positive relationship between the children in our school system, and the officers of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. To decrease the amount of crime and to increase the safety of the children in our community school systems. To deliver police services consistent with the school’s needs, through a community based policing approach.
“To provide police services with an emphasis on personal attention, support, and counseling, in addition to enforcement.
And to eliminate children’s apprehension about reporting crime and suspicious activity.”
Prielipp said the officer will be able to “teach/lead” classes including, but is not limited to: DARE, cyber-bullying, civil rights, ORV safety, boater’s safety, etc.
“They will also be able to conduct well-child checks and help with truancy,” Prielipp said.