The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District has added a second resource officer and is working on adding a third.
The funds to hire a second and potentially a third officer come from a $370,000 grant and is part of an updated agreement between the city and the district.
Dustin Virgil is the second officer added and says he sees the job as an opportunity to connect with kids in the community.
“I think it’s a great platform to reach the youth with the top priority just being connecting with the youth and being a positive reinforcement,” Virgil said.
The district says they hope reinforcing their security will assure both students and parents that the kids' safety is of the utmost importance.
“To God forbid, be right there, to have an armed officer if God forbid we have any kind of intruder but also to just create the expectation for everyone that this is a safe place,” said Curt Dubost, School District Superintendent.
Dubost also says the plan is to have one officer based out of Paso Robles High school while the other two will remain open to answering calls from the surrounding schools.
The grant will allow the district to be able to pay the officers for the next three years.
Plans for the third officer are not set in stone yet, but the district says they hope to start the new officer as soon as possible.
