Karen Sweet Named School Safety Officer
A loud round of applause could be heard inside Chester Town Hall July 13 as Karen Sweet was appointed school safety officer for West Geauga Schools.
A loud round of applause could be heard inside Chester Town Hall July 13 as Karen Sweet was appointed school safety officer for West Geauga Schools.
“It’s a big thrill for us because this is something we’ve been working on for a while now,” said Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young. “With these positions, we have to make sure it’s the right fit and I think especially with Karen, she is going to be a really good fit.”
Sweet will enter the position at an annual rate of $58,000 per year based on the agreement between West Geauga Schools Board of Education and Chester Township Trustees.
Young said Sweet has an impressive background in law enforcement and brings a temperament the department likes.
“She started her career in Lake County. She was a detective there and she actually worked here in Geauga County for the prosecutor’s office,” the chief said. “She was a criminal investigator here for years. Her last position after retirement was as the school safety officer in the Riverside school district, so she has experience as well and she’ll be a really good fit for us.”
School board members approved two agreements June 26 with both Chester Township and Russell Township police departments to provide patrol and safety officers in the district’s school buildings.
The Chester police department will provide one sworn, uniformed member of the department to serve as the full-time school patrol officer throughout the district and two part-time school safety officers who will serve under the guidance of the SPO.
The agreement with Russell Township will span three years, from July 1 of 2023 through June 30 of 2026, while Chester’s agreement will be for a single school year and may be renewed on an annual basis.
West Geauga Schools will pay Russell Township a total of $364,400 for the three-year agreement and will compensate Chester police department in an amount not to exceed $131,000 annually for one SPO position and $102,000 annually for each SSO position.
“We still have another position to fill, so we have several (officers) that we’re considering,” Young said. “Again, we’re really just trying to look at who we feel best represents Chester Township and will be a really good fit for that position at the school.”
