School resource officers making KSD a safer place

KELLOGG –– Schools have become a battlefield of sorts, but at two of the buildings in the Kellogg School District, the students are not fighting alone.  

At Kellogg Middle School and Kellogg High School, dedicated School Resource Officers (SRO) Deputy Adam Durflinger and Deputy Mike Groves are working to ensure kids stay safe. 

According to Groves, Idaho has over 700 public K through 12 schools, but only 200 of them have an SRO assigned to them – this could be due to many factors, many of them financial. However, the value they bring is undeniable.  

The role of an SRO is a nebulous one. The easiest answer is that their primary responsibility is to be in the building in case of an active threat. That is the worst-case scenario.  

But they provide so much more than that, including things that may not be noticed or realized until much later in life.  

“SROs also serve as mentors and role models,” Groves said. “Some of the students have never encountered a police officer or if they have, it may have been a negative experience.  By establishing a rapport with these students, they can have them see law enforcement in a more positive light.  SROs educate students on vaping, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs as part of a prevention program.  They also address some of the dangers of social media as well as provide training for staff in these areas.” 

Durflinger, who is lovingly known as “Durf” by many of the students at KHS, pointed out that overcoming the negative perception surrounding law enforcement is the most challenging part of his position. 

“I think walking the line where we establish a rapport with kids that we hope creates the environment where they are comfortable coming to tell us things while still enforcing the law when necessary,” Durflinger said.  

This week, Durflinger and Groves attended the Idaho School Resource Officers Conference in Boise, joining 140 of their fellow SROs to learn and discuss how better to serve their schools, communities, and the students they work tirelessly to protect.  

Threat assessment, vaping prevention, and teen seatbelt use are among the most hot-button topics being covered at the conference but also includes updates on legislation that may aid SROs in the way they work within their buildings as well as juvenile diversion, the fentanyl crisis, the use of restorative justice among teenagers.  

Restorative justice is a uniquely focused theory that targets the harm caused by wrongdoing and aims to force offenders to understand and take responsibility for their actions and then allow them to redeem themselves. This opens constructive dialogue and discourages future offenses.  

Kellogg School District’s SRO program is funded through a partnership between the district and the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, where the SROs work in the buildings during the school year and are then used as additional patrol along Shoshone County’s rural recreation areas in the summertime.  

Even with all of the challenges presented, both Durf and Groves are quick to admit that their favorite parts of the job are the daily positive interactions they get to have with the students.  

"Officer Groves and Durflinger bring a calming presence to both KMS and KHS while providing a police presence for support," KSD Superintendent Lance Pearson said. "The rapport they build with students and staff has a positive impact on the culture of our school district."