The South Lyon Board of Education shocked City Council Monday night by announcing a partnership to bring a school resource officer into South Lyon High School.
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Board of Education President Randall Clark informed council during Monday night’s meeting that starting March 1st, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office will be providing South Lyon High School with an SRO. The announcement was made during call to the public and caught all council members by surprise. According to Clark, an agreement to fund an SRO for the high school has been made between the school board and Lyon Township. The high school has been without an SRO for over a decade after the city cut funding for the position due to an economic decline.

Noticeably upset by the announcement was South Lyon Police Chief Lloyd Collins. Collins said he was disappointed in the lack of communication between the school board and city. He described the announcement as an ambush and chose not to speak on the matter after the meeting – saying he needed time to evaluate the situation and would quote “Bite his tongue and investigate the matter with the school board.”

The surprise announcement received mixed emotions from council members. One who was in favor was Mayor Pro-Tem Margaret Kurtzweil. Kurtzweil said she was pleased that a more financially stable community such as Lyon Township stepped up to support a major issue that needed to be addressed. Kurtzweil told WHMI she supports the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office filling this position 100%. Kurtzweil continued to praise both Lyon Township and the school board for taking the initiative and solving a problem that needed to be addressed immediately. (DF/JM)