ROWAN COUNTY — The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office is the recipient of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grant which will allow the county to hire a new school resource officer in the Rowan-Salisbury School System for the 2024-2025 school year. The $125,000 grant comes from the DOJ’s COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Hiring grant program.

The county’s grant application received full support from both U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd.

“Funding law enforcement is one of my key priorities, and I am proud of Rowan County for working to keep their schools safe by hiring a new school resource officer through the COPS Hiring program,” Tillis said. 

Budd added, “I am thrilled that the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office was awarded this competitive grant funding. School resource officers play a critical role in fostering trust and safety in the county’s schools, and I’m proud to have played a part in improving officers’ relationships with the student body.”

According to Rowan County Sheriff Travis Allen, the new school resource officer will attend court and juvenile hearings, conduct welfare checks, provide back-up to other school resource officers, and provide education and training for students and staff. 

“We are prioritizing school safety in Rowan County and adding this new school resource officer will greatly enhance these efforts,” Allen said. “This DOJ funding is certainly a boon, and I appreciate Sens. Tillis and Budd for their support.

“It is important that our students are safe in school. A new school resource officer will help relieve responsibilities of the primary school resource officer, thus furthering the development of positive relationships with the students which will, in turn, help to build trust.”