INDIAN SPRINGS VILLAGE – A second school resource officer will soon be deployed at Oak Mountain High School thanks to the financial support of Indian Springs Village.

Indian Springs Mayor Brenda Bell-Guercio and the town council agreed at a meeting on Aug. 7 to grant the request of Sheriff John Samaniego to fund the extra SRO.

“We were on board and went ahead and added it to our budget,” Bell-Guercio said. “Even with our limited income, I don’t know of any time they have come to us with something that involves the safety of the students in our schools and we haven’t said yes.”

The Safe School Initiative, a partnership among Shelby County and various municipalities, funds SROs in schools across the county.

However, Samaniego said he decided that the placement of extra SROs in the two high schools in the county’s jurisdiction—Oak Mountain and Chelsea—were justified and approached the municipal governments about funding.

“I was very lucky they agreed with me about the need for another SRO and approved the funding,” Samaniego said about Indian Springs.

Chelsea’s City Council could take action on the request at a future meeting.

Shelby County Schools superintendent-elect Lewis Brooks accompanied Samaniego to address the councils.

Samaniego’s request was for all expenses related to a full-time officer, totaling $79,511.

The commitment represents more than 20 percent of Indian Springs Village’s total budget of about $360,000.

“We consider it totally worthwhile,” Bell-Guercio said.

The new school resource officer, along with a K9, will start at OMHS some time after the Labor Day holiday.

Much like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 motivated school and law enforcement officials to place officers in every local school, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February was a reason for the sheriff to seek additional deputies.

“I felt like it would be prudent to have an additional SRO,” Samaniego said.

David Morrow has served as an SRO at Oak Mountain for about three years.

Morrow is well-known in the area as the deputy responsible for successfully ending a standoff with a gunman who had taken hostages at Chelsea Middle School in 2013.