FORT SCOTT — Lunch duty, door checks, Halloween safety talks and fishing with fifth graders are all part of the job for Fort Scott’s school resource officers, two officers told the USD 234 board Oct. 12.

Officer John Carpenter, who joined the department in 2020 and is in his second year in the role, covers the middle school and Eugene Ware Elementary. At the middle school he helps with lunch duty and checks that doors are secured and that teachers are keeping them shut. About once a quarter he gives a safety talk at Eugene Ware. The latest covered trick-or-treating, including stranger danger and looking both ways before crossing the street. At the end of the year, he joins fifth graders for a reward party with fishing and a picnic.

Officer Garrett, with the department since 2013, took over the role about four years ago and now covers the high school and Winfield Scott. He said he takes the report and does the follow-up on any criminal incident at the schools. “One of my most important goals within the school is providing a good role model for the kids,” he said. He said the high school takes up much of his day, but when Winfield Scott calls, he goes.

Both are ALICE instructors and train district staff. “So ALICE in itself is actually an acronym. It stands for Alert, Lockdown, Information, Counter, and Evacuation,” one of the officers told the board. The officer said it gives teachers more power to decide whether to lock down, counter or evacuate based on the situation, instead of relying on the old Code Red lockdown alone.

A speaker said this year’s staff session ran an hour and a half to two hours. The officers said the preschool is covered as needed, and that KRI and the Tiger Academy are not covered regularly.