The Limestone County Commission unanimously decided to approve the pay increase for retired school resource officers to earn as much as $52,000 per year, during its regularly scheduled meeting Monday, Aug. 5.

The unanimous vote on the matter came after the Limestone County Board of Education agreed to pay for 60 percent of the new salary and benefits on Tuesday, July 30, during their meeting. The County Commission will be responsible for the remaining 40 percent of the salary and benefits.

“It’s a labor of love, that’s why a lot of these school resource officers come back (after) they’re retired, it gives them the opportunity to do a labor of love,” Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly told The News Courier after the meeting Monday at the Limestone County Courthouse Annex. “I tell everybody this, the school resource officer is more of an educator than it is anything else. That policeman being in that school teaches children it is alright to talk to the cops.”

Daly also mentioned that SROs play an important role in schools, and not just for protection and security, but because of the impact that they make in a child’s personal life during their academic journey.

“We diffuse a whole lot of domestic issues through that school resource officer, because that kid will feel comfortable talking to that person,” Daly said. “I’m not as worried about somebody coming into the school doing something, as I am (about) protecting those children when they’re at home. These kids build a relationship with that person and it helps mold what we are trying to create here in Limestone County.”

Alabama Act 2023-334 — from the Retirement Systems of Alabama — went into effect on Aug. 1, 2023, and it permitted certain retired individuals to serve without the suspension of his or her retirement benefits. The act allowed for the passage of the new approved pay increase, which will allow for hopefully more retirees to become a SRO.

Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin was present at the commission’s meeting and he told The News Courier that he was able to fill every county school with an SRO thanks to this salary increase.

“The importance of an SRO in a school speaks for itself,” McLaughlin said. “Many of the other schools had already increased their pay, so we did lose a lot of SROs because they were going to school’s where they were getting paid a lot more money. The School Board and the County Commission realizing there was an immediate need to do this allowed me to fill those spots to start this school year.”

In other business the commission:

— Approved claims from July 12-31, totaling $5,958,383.09.

— Approved to change the commission work session and meeting from 9:00 a.m. on Monday, August 19, 2024, to Friday, August 16, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.

— Approved a court referral officer contract between the Administrative Director of Courts and the Limestone County Commission for the Limestone County Community Corrections Program for the period of October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025.

— Approved an increased match for vans for Council on Aging from a previously approved ALDOT grant.

— Approved the application for the Byrne Jag Grant through ADECA for two narcotic scanners and a virtual reality de-escalation module.

— Approved budget revisions totaling +$56,500.00

— Approved the re-appoint of Tere Richardson to the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association’s Board of Directors.

— Approved the hire of Peyton Rogers, Steven Bates and e J. Austin Casteel as a corrections officers.

— Approved various county merit increases and subdivision lots.