Dedicated officers return to Mesa, Estancia high schools

Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools will have specific police officers dedicated to each campus this school year for the first time since 2012.

The Costa Mesa Police Department revived its school resource officer, or SRO, program in February. It was the first time officers had been present full-time since 2012, when the department announced it didn’t have enough staffing to fill the slots.

Costa Mesa police officers offered to work more hours in order to patrol the schools. The police department and school district split the cost of overtime to pay officers who volunteered to take the extra shifts, officials have said.

This meant that different officers would often be present at schools each day.

However, this school year the same officers will be on the secondary school campuses Monday through Friday.

“That consistency is important,” said Chuck Hinman, assistant superintendent of secondary education.

Jess Gilman, a former SRO who stepped out of retirement to work at the high schools as a reserve officer in 2013, has returned to the Mesa campuses this year.

As a reserve officer, he is able to work 30 hours per week for two years, said Lt. Mark Manley.

Both Gilman and Officer Bill Adams will be present daily at the Costa Mesa high and middle school campus, as well as Estancia High School and TeWinkle Intermediate.

Adams will cover the Costa Mesa high and middle school campus, and Gilman will be present at Estancia and TeWinkle.

While the officers will spend the majority of their time at the intermediate and high schools, they will also be present at elementary schools, when needed, Hinman said.

“Our position is that we need to have an SRO at Estancia and Costa Mesa,” he said. “We’re willing to do whatever we need to do to make that happen.”

A lack of officers at Costa Mesa schools has been a frequent topic of discussion since the Newport-Mesa school board renewed its focus on school security after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.

“Having officers on campus potentially mitigates not only criminal issues, but it helps keep the students on their toes as well,” Manley said.

Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools have maintained dedicated SROs on their campuses. In Newport Beach, the city and school district split the cost of the officers’ salary and benefits, which will total $190,121 this school year, according to city documents.

The district has set aside $374,544 this year for school resource officers in both cities, according to the 2014-15 budget. The district and city will likely split the cost of the officers in Costa Mesa, Hinman said.

The district and the police department will continue to look at a more-permanent SRO program in Costa Mesa in the coming years, as the department continues to build up staffing levels.

“Assuming we can maintain our recruitment and retention levels, I anticipate being able to staff a full-time SRO program in late 2015,” Costa Mesa Police Chief Tom Gazsi said.