By Matthew Malone

News Editor

GALT, CA (MPG) - Sgt. Rod Fisher was introduced on May 15 as Galt Police Department’s newest school resource officer (SRO). Chief of Police Brian Kalinowski discussed the expanded SRO program during the Galt Joint Union Elementary School regular meeting, which also included the district’s Facilities Master Plan.

Fisher is the third officer charged with maintaining safety at school sites in Galt’s elementary and high school districts. Kalinowski explained that, as a sergeant, Fisher will oversee the police department’s youth programs in addition to performing normal SRO duties. The existing SROs are officers Amanda Juarez and Matthew Walters.

“I’ve tasked (Fisher) to evaluate what we’ve been doing in the schools as a police department to serve both districts … and to give me some ideas about future items that we can look at to enhance our services,” Kalinowski said, adding that Fisher’s portfolio would include helping with the department’s Character Counts initiative and the juvenile diversion program, and assessing broader security concerns for schools.

“I will tell you that this is an evolving program, and I don’t want it to be something that is stagnant,” Kalinowski said. He said having an additional officer grants flexibility for unexpected situations. He cited the crash on May 14 involving a school bus carrying Robert L. McCaffrey Middle School students; the following day, all three SROs served at McCaffrey.

Board President Traci Skinner addressed the SROs, saying that “the students seem to really enjoy — especially the elementary (students) — you being on campus.” She also spoke about the importance of establishing a relationship with students in elementary school.

“Our priority is engagement with the schools, and one of the things that has happened as we progress is that police officers as a whole look at the schools differently,” Fisher told the trustees, saying he wants to find ways of using the broader department’s resources for the schools when needed.

The completed Facilities Master Plan lays out potential opportunities for renovation and updated facilities at each of the district’s sites.

Madeline Villena of consulting firm 19six Architects called the master plan “a road map to inform future capital improvements, to help prioritize deferred maintenance projects throughout each school site and encourage alignment to modern education facility standards as well as the district’s strategic objectives.”

Through its outreach efforts, 19six identified facilities needs shared by multiple schools: outdoor learning spaces, shade structures, building modernization or replacement, gender-neutral restrooms and parking lot reconfiguration.

The plan includes diagrams of each campus marked with potential improvements, along with estimates of their probable cost. Villena said the cost estimates are in 2024 dollars and include construction and design among other expenses.

For example, the section on River Oaks Elementary School gives possible locations for two permanent classroom buildings that would replace existing portable classroom buildings. It also includes lighting modernization in one of the buildings and expanded and reconfigured parking lots.

Superintendent Lois Yount said that, if the district were to get the bonds it is considering for the November election, money would go toward updating building interiors and parking, among other things.

“It’s a lot of information. I mean, a lot,” Trustee Katherine Harper said of the document, which is more than 200 pages. “I think we all kind of side-eyed it when we first saw it, but as I started to work my way through it, it was very digestible. … I have a really good overview now of what we’re looking at in the next 15 to 20 years.”

Trustee Wes Cagle said the master plan contains key information for demonstrating the district’s facility needs.

“It really stands out for parents and community members to understand these schools; they need upgrading,” Cagle said.

At the start of the meeting, the McCaffrey Environmental Club presented about its projects.

The goal of the club is to promote awareness of the local area’s ecosystems, said science teacher and club co-adviser Lisa Hegdahl, pointing to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and Cosumnes River Preserve. Fellow adviser DeAnna Mino thanked the city of Galt and the district for their support of the club.

Club members came forward to speak about their favorite aspects of the club, including learning nature journaling, visiting the preserve and doing activities such as making plastic toys out of milk and vinegar.