After what the participants are calling a very successful first school year of operation, the village of Oak Brook and Butler Elementary District 53 have agreed to expand a program that keeps a police officer in both Butler Junior High and Brook Forest School on school days.
The initial agreement, which started with the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, had one auxiliary officer splitting time each day between the two school buildings.
Now, starting with the 2023-2024 school year, both Butler Junior High and Brook Forest School will have officers in the building for the entire school day.
“As chief of police, my number one priority is to keep the children in our community safe,” Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis said. “Having an officer in each school on a daily basis adds to the already numerous safety measures that are in place in our schools.”
Strockis said all officers have access to school cameras in case of an emergency and that having direct radio contact with an officer at each school is invaluable.
“The officers at the schools have one primary responsibility, which is to keep students and staff safe and be the first line of defense in any emergency situation,” he said.
Strockis said most of the officers at the schools are retired Oak Brook Police officers who know the community and spent most of their lives as working members of the community.
“These are part-time auxiliary officers, who supplement our full-time staff, but we hold them to the same standards of training as our full-time officers,” he said, adding that there are different officers at the schools each day.
Strockis said officers in the schools are clearly visible as police and act as a physical deterrent.” They are armed with a firearm, have direct access to a police radio, and have a marked Oak Brook squad car parked outside the schools,” he said. Oak Brook currently has six auxiliary officers, and Strockis said he is looking to add four more.
He said he has an excellent working relationship with District 53 Superintendent Paul O’Malley and his staff.
“We are in constant communication over any safety concerns,” Strockis said.
O’Malley is on the same page as Strockis and said one of District 53’s primary goals is the safety and well-being of its students, staff and community.
“To further our alignment with that goal, we continue to assess school security,” he said. “The partnership we have with Oak Brook police and Chief Strockis allows us to provide a school safety model for our students and staff with strong support from our Board of Education and the greater school community.”
O’Malley said the idea for having an additional officer follows meetings of the district crisis team, which includes Strockis, district and building administration, and buildings and grounds team members.
“Having a dedicated security officer at both of our buildings provides each school building with an added layer of security for the students and staff,” O’Malley said. “These security officers provide additional oversight to morning and afternoon drop off and dismissal, are available to assist with concerns that arise throughout the school year, and monitor the surroundings of our physical locations.”
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The agreement for the recently-ended first school year called for District 53 to pay the full costs of services, which was $48,565.76, as an annual payment to the village for auxiliary officer services for 2022-2023. In addition, District 53 also agreed to reimburse the village 50% of the purchase price of a fully outfitted squad car, which is used by the village for other functions when not in use for school security.
The amended agreement for 2023-2024, which adds the second officer and squad car, calls for District 53 to pay the village $97,131.52 along with an annual sum of $10,000 for the second squad car usage.
“I’m extremely proud of this program and feel as though it’s a model for other districts to follow,” Strockis said.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.