Item No. 2
Town of Atherton
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT – STUDY SESSION
TO: COUNCIL MEMBERS AND
GEORGE RODERICKS, CITY MANAGER
FROM: STEVEN D. MCCULLEY, CHIEF OF POLICE
DATE: APRIL 1, 2026
SUBJECT: REVIEW OF PROPOSED REQUEST FOR AN ADDITIONAL
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER AND SPECIALTY PAY FOR THE
THERAPY CANINE HANDLER.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council approve the Police Department's request for an additional School Resource Officer (SRO) position.
Staff also recommend that the Council approve the Police Department's request to establish 2.5% specialty assignment pay for the current therapy canine handler (not to be retroactive).
BACKGROUND
School Resource Officer (SRO)
The Police Department currently has one full-time SRO position, and this officer is assigned full time to Menlo Atherton High School. In partnership with the Sequoia Union School District, the district pays 50% of the SRO's total salary and benefits.
Menlo Atherton High School serves a combined student and staff population approaching 3,000, functioning as a large, complex campus environment with daily activity levels comparable to those of a small town. The current single officer SRO assignment is insufficient to meet the school's safety, intervention, and engagement needs at this scale. The addition of a second SRO would significantly enhance campus safety, response capability, student support, and overall officer safety.
Therapy Canine Handler
The Police Department's therapy canine program was established in July 2024 as part of the organization's ongoing commitment to community well being, victim support, and officer wellness. The program centers around the Department's trained therapy dog, Emmy, and her handler, Sergeant Jon Fong, who together provide comfort, emotional support, and positive Request for Additional SRO and for Specialty Assignment Pay for Canine Therapy Handler 04-01-2026
engagement during police and community interactions. When the program was approved, it did not include specialty pay for the canine handler.
ANALYSIS
School Resource Officer (SRO)
Menlo‑Atherton High School serves a daily population of nearly 3,000 students and staff, making it one of the largest educational campuses in the region. The Atherton Police Department currently assigns one School Resource Officer (SRO) to the site, who responds to an average of 682 calls for service during the nine‑month school year. These calls routinely involve high‑risk and resource‑intensive incidents, including assaults, weapons-related reports involving guns and knives, sexual assaults, sex‑related offenses, mental‑health crises requiring evaluation or commitment, thefts, property crimes, drug‑related offenses, and domestic‑violence‑related matters.
The volume and seriousness of these incidents exceed the response capacity of a single officer assigned to a large, active campus. A one officer deployment model limits the Department's ability to ensure timely response, maintain campus presence, conduct prevention activities, and manage complex investigations while also safeguarding officer safety.
Assigning a second SRO will improve emergency response capability, enhance officer safety, increase consistent campus engagement, strengthen threat‑assessment and intervention efforts, and ensure continuity of service when one SRO is committed to an extended call, an investigation, or an absence. Expanding to a two officer model aligns with best practices for schools of this size and incident profile and is necessary to maintain a safe and supportive learning environment.
This authorized position would be frozen pending execution of an agreement with the school district to fund at least 50% of the position's cost. The estimated annual cost is $277,000 for salary and benefits, plus an additional $105,000 for a vehicle.
Therapy Canine Handler
Police K9 patrol/tracking/bite handlers generally receive specialty incentive pay because the assignment requires significant additional responsibilities, training, and risks beyond those of standard patrol duties. Typical police K9's are used for scent detection, narcotic detection, explosives and firearms detection, searching for humans, and enhancing officer and community safety. These functions require a highly trained handler canine team, ongoing certification, and daily off duty care.
K9 patrol/tracking/bite handlers invest extensive time in specialized POST related training, maintenance training, and scenario based deployments. They also assume responsibility for after hours care, including feeding, grooming, exercising, veterinary appointments, and transporting the canine. K9 handlers face heightened operational risk, including deployments involving weapons, searches, and high‑risk tactical scenarios. Specialty pay reflects the physical danger, liability exposure, and on‑call expectations associated with these duties.
Request for Additional SRO and for Specialty Assignment Pay for Canine Therapy Handler 04-01-2026
Per the current Atherton Police Officers Association (APOA) MOU, K9 patrol/tracking/bite handlers received 5% specialty pay plus 2 hours and 20 minutes of overtime per week for at home K9 maintenance duties. When the current MOU was finalized, the Police Department did not have a canine therapy dog program.
The Police Department's therapy canine program provides emotional support, victim assistance, community engagement, and internal wellness benefits through the Department's therapy canine, Emmy, and handler Sergeant Jon Fong. These duties are non tactical and focus on comfort, engagement, and crisis support rather than enforcement or high‑risk field operations.
To date, the program has been an overwhelming success both internally for the department and externally for the community. The program has demonstrated benefits, including improved officer morale, reduced stress levels among personnel, stronger community engagement, and the ability to provide comfort during traumatic events. The program has also proven highly effective during school visits, community activities, critical incidents, and victim interviews. Overall, the Therapy Dog Program reflects the Department's commitment to compassionate, holistic, and community‑centered policing, using innovative tools to build trust, support mental health, and enhance the quality of service to residents.
Due to the substantial differences in tactical risk, operational complexity, and specialized enforcement capability, it is appropriate that a therapy canine handler receive a lower specialty assignment pay rate than a patrol/tracking/bite K9 handler. Based on this, it is recommended that the therapy canine handler receive 2.5% specialty assignment pay. Providing 2 hours and 20 minutes of overtime per week for at-home therapy canine care and maintenance is not recommended.
The annual cost of the specialty pay, based on a top step patrol sergeant's salary, is approximately $5,000.
FISCAL IMPACT
School Resource Officer (SRO)
The estimated annual cost for an additional SRO is $277,000 for salary and benefits, plus an additional $105,000 for a vehicle. This authorized position would be frozen pending execution of an agreement with the school district to fund at least 50% of the position's cost.
Therapy Canine Handler
The annual cost of the recommended 2.5% specialty pay, based on a top-step patrol sergeant's salary, is approximately $5,000 per year.
GOAL ALIGNMENT
Goal E - Strengthen Community Engagement and Transparency Request for Additional SRO and for Specialty Assignment Pay for Canine Therapy Handler 04-01-2026
Goal F - Be a Forward-Thinking, Well-Managed, Well-Planned Town
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, including this agenda item, at least 72 hours before the meeting in print and electronically. Pedestrian Information about the project is also disseminated via the Town’s electronic News Flash and Atherton Online. There are approximately 1,200 subscribers to the Town’s electronic News Flash publications. Subscribers include residents and stakeholders, including, but not limited to, media outlets, school districts, the Menlo Park Fire District, service providers (water, power, and sewer), and regional elected officials.
ATTACHMENTS
None
COMMISSION/COMMITTEE FEEDBACK/REFERRAL
This item ____ has or __X___ has not been before a Town Committee or Commission. ____ Audit/Finance Committee (meets every other month)
____ Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee (meets as needed)
____ Civic Center Advisory Committee (meets as needed)
____ Environmental Programs Committee (meets every other month) ____ Park and Recreation Committee (meets each month)
____ Planning Commission (meets each month)
____ Rail Committee (meets every other month)
____ Transportation Committee (meets every other month) ____ Tree Committee (meets each month)