$200,000 for schools

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says the Smooth Ride Home program has saved his office nearly $200,000 in maintenance costs and he is using that money for school resource officers at three high schools.
“In the last eight months we’ve saved just under $200,000,” he said Thursday at a St. Landry Parish School Board meeting.
School resource officers will be assigned to Beau Chene, Northwest and North Central high schools after the first of the year.
The deputies will be available for the feeder elementary schools, he said.
St. Landry Parish School Superintendent did not respond to an email question about school resources officers at Eunice and Opelousas high schools.
“The deplorable shape of the roads were killing my budget and maintenance cost,” he said.
Guidroz said his office has about 130 vehicles they were suffering issues as broken undercarriages and needing front end alignments and shock absorbers.
Guidroz said he agreed to help Parish President Bill Fontenot pass the 2-cent sales tax to pay for the Smooth Ride Home program, a 15-year plan to upgrade parish roads.
Fontenot said at recent Parish Council meeting that the first 100 miles of road have been upgraded, a second 100 miles is underway and a third 100 miles of road work will be advertised for bids after the first year.
Guidroz said it was during meetings throughout the parish that he promised any savings the sheriff’s office realized from maintenance cost would be used to pay for school resource officers at three high schools.
Maj. Richard Wiliams, fleet manager for the sheriff’s office, conducted a study of costs that found $200,000, Guidroz said in a news release.
“Every St. Landry Parish deputy is Louisiana State P.O.S.T. (Police Officer Standards and Training) certified and the assigned school resource deputies will be selected based experience and established skills in areas like communication and conflict resolution,” the news release stated.
“Adding three newly selected school resource officers to our currently assigned dedicated staff of DARE officers lead by Capt. Cheyne Platt will greatly enhance the school systems efforts to bring education to a higher level in St. Landry Parish,” Guidroz said. “As a state trooper for 30 years and serving as sheriff for the last decade, I have always tried to find ways to bring positive change to the lives of those I’ve sworn to serve and protect. With my own children grown and my beautiful grandchildren coming up, I see this enhanced dedication to our schools as a righteous cause. This budgeted money represents tax dollars well managed and spent.”
At the board meeting, Guidroz noted he has served about 40 years in law enforcement and has never seen conditions as bad as they are today.
“We see it other states, but I’m telling you it can happen in St. Landry Parish,” he said.