CA Review JRT
Meeting Date: July 29, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Geoff Patnoe, City Manager
Staff Contact: Jeffery Smith, Police Captain
[email protected], 442-339-2218
Amanda Simpson, Management Analyst
[email protected], 442-339-5054
Subject: Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Unified School District for the School Resource Officer Program for the 2025-26 School Year
Districts: All
Rec
ommended Action
Adopt a resolution approving a memorandum of understanding between the City of Carlsbad and Carlsbad Unified School District for the School Resource Officer Program for the 2025-26 school year.
Executive Summary
The City of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Unified School District maintain a strong, ongoing partnership focused on providing a safe and secure environment for all students and staff across district campuses. For the 2025–2026 school year, the Carlsbad Police Department will assign three dedicated school resource officers to serve the district. Over a ten-month period, one officer will be assigned to Carlsbad High School, another to Sage Creek High School, and the third will cover the district’s three middle schools and nine elementary schools.
The district will pay for half of the costs of these assignments, totaling $250,999, which will reimburse the city’s General Fund.
The City Council is being asked to approve the memorandum of understanding with the district, which will be effective for the 2025–26 public school year.
Explanation & Analysis
The Police Department has provided at least one school resource officer each school year to the Carlsbad Unified School District for over two decades.
• In 2018, the City Council approved a second dedicated school resource officer for Sage Creek High School at the request of the school district. • In 2019, a third school resource officer was approved to rotate between the district’s three middle schools and nine elementary schools.
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The Police Department currently has five school resource officers. Two of those officers are considered roving officers who provide services to Carlsbad schools in the Encinitas, San Marcos, and San Dieguito Unified School Districts. These districts were offered dedicated school resource officers, but have declined. The City of Carlsbad fully funds the two roving school resource officers.
The school resource officers are trained to build positive relationships with students and improve connections between youth in the community and law enforcement.
Duties of a school resource officer include:
• Responding to law enforcement-related matters during school hours while the officer is on or near the officer’s assigned school campuses
• Documenting and investigating school-related crimes
• Attending sporting events, school activities and parent conferences/meetings • Conducting criminal investigations as assigned by the supervisor of the Family Services Unit and assisting other officers in ongoing criminal investigations that bring other officers onto the school campus
• Working with school staff on shared concerns
• Serving as a liaison for the School Attendance Review Board and being the point of contact for Child Protective Services visits, truancy sweeps, home visitations, district- wide critical response plan training, school safety plans, and training of campus supervisors and noon duty personnel
If on-campus activities are reduced due to unforeseen circumstances, such as public health emergencies, the Carlsbad Unified School District may request a reduction or suspension of school resource officer services. In such cases, the total costs will be adjusted accordingly.
The proposed resolution authorizes the City Manager to execute amendments to the memorandum of understanding, which may be necessary to ensure compliance with state or local public health orders, or other federal, state, or local laws.
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The annual cost for a mid-range officer (Step 3) is $200,799, which includes salaries and benefits, but does not include equipment and maintenance. The Carlsbad Unified School District’s cost-sharing payment of $250,999 will be used to reimburse the General Fund and reduce the program’s impact on the city’s budget. The breakdown of costs and cost-sharing is below:
*Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar and are based on rounded salary, including education pay, ho liday pay and uniform all
owance.
Next Steps
With City Council approval, the City Manager will sign the memorandum of understanding between the Carlsbad Unified School District and City of Carlsbad. Under this agreement, the Police Department will assign three dedicated school resource officers to serve the Carlsbad Unified School District. The district will be invoiced $250,999 for the 2025-26 school year.
Environmental Evaluation
The proposed action is not a “project” as defined by CEQA Section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a) and does not require e nvironmental review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) because the action is limite d to the execution of a memorandum of understanding to provide school resource o fficers. The action has no potential to cause either a direct p
hysical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Exhibits
1. City Council resolution
School resource officer cost allocation
Cost Carlsbad
High
Sage Creek
High
Middle
schools Total
Annual personnel costs $200,799 $200,799 $200,799 $602,398 Monthly personnel costs $16,733 $16,733 $16,733 $50,200 School year cost (10
months) $167,333 $167,333 $167,333 $501,998
Half-share cost to
district $83,666 $83,666 $83,666 $250,999
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RESOLUTION NO. 2025-180 .
A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE CITY OF CARLSBAD AND THE CARLSBAD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM FOR THE 2025 - 26 SCHOOL YEAR
W
HEREAS, the Police Department and the Carlsbad Unified School District maintain a strong, ongoing partnership focused on providing a safe and secure environment for all students and staff across district campuses; and
WHEREAS, the Police Department has provided the Carlsbad Unified School District with a school resource officer every school year for over two decades; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, desires to authorize the City Manager to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with the Carlsbad Unified School District for the School Resource Officer Program for the 2025-26 school year; and WHEREAS, for the 2025-26 school year, one school resource officer will be assigned to Carlsbad High School, one school resource officer will be assigned to Sage Creek High School, and one school resource officer will be the roving officer assigned to the three middle schools and nine elementary schools within the district during the ten months when students are on campus; and WHEREAS, Carlsbad Unified School District agrees to pay for one -half the costs of three full - time police officers during the months they are assigned to the schools, totaling $250,999.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as follows:
1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
2. That the City Council has determined the proposed action is not a “project” as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a) and does not require environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) because the action is limited to the execution of a memorandum of understanding to provide school resource officers. The action has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
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3. That the City Manager , or designee, is authorized to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Unified School District for the School Resource Officer Program for the 2025- 26 school year , attached hereto as Attachment A.
4. That the City Manager , or designee, is authorized to execute amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding for the School Resource Officer Program as needed to ensure continued compliance with state or local public health orders, or other federal, state, or local laws.
5. That the Carlsbad Unified School District’s cost -sharing payment of $250,999 will be used to reimburse the city’s General Fund.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a R egular Meeting of the Cit y Council of the City of Carlsbad on the 29th day of July, 2025, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Blackburn, Bhat-Patel, Acosta, Burkholder, Shin.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
_____________
_________________________
KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor
_____________
_________________________
SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk
(SEAL)
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN
THE CARLSBAD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE CITY OF CARLSBAD The Cit
y of Carlsbad’s Police Department (“City”) and the Carlsbad Unified School District (“District”) desire to provide a safe and secure, teaching a nd learning environment for all students and staff within the City of Carlsbad by protecting life and property.
Ensuring the safety of students and staff on school campuses in Carlsbad is a priority to the school administration and the police department. Campus security will be enhanced by the presence of police officers who will interact with the students in both a positive and proactive manner. Police officers on campus, or School Resource Office rs (“SROs”), will help im prove relations between the police department and the youth of the community. Therefore, the District and the City have the following expectations and agree to underta ke the listed responsibilities to achieve these mutual objectives:
A. DISTRICT’S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY
1. To ensure student welfare portal-to-portal;
2. To develop procedures to handle campus safety issues;
3. To establish and follow procedures for referring police involvement; and
4. To cooperate with and support in a proact ive manner the City of Carlsbad Police Department to ensure the su ccess of programs involving students, school personnel, parents and the community.
B. CITY’S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY
1. Provide enforcement/prevention/intervention by:
a. Providing a uniformed police officer presence at Carlsbad High School, Sage Creek High School, the middle and elementary sc hools, Carlsbad Village Academy, and district offices located in the City of Carlsbad;
b. Responding to all law enforcement relate d matters as they occur during regular school hours while the officer is on or near the above facilities and able to do so; c. Documenting all incidents of crime that occur at the above facilities as per department regulations, performing th e necessary follow-up investigations as needed to identify perpetrators of crim e, and performing any follow-up on cases as deemed necessary;
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2025-2026 School Year
d. Attending various sporting events and sch ool activities, as needed for proactiv e enfor
cement and interaction;
e. Attending parent conferences/meetings, as needed.
2. Conduct criminal investigations as assigned by
the supervisor of the Family Services Unit
and assist other law enforcement officers who are engaged in ongoing criminal investigations that bring them onto the school campus.
3. Work with s
chool staff in matters of mutual concern, such as alcohol and drug use on campus; saf
ety of students and staff on and off campus; gang-related violence and crime; campus intrusion; and loss and/or damage to property.
4. Provide liais
on in the following areas: School Attendance Review Board; point of contact for CPS visits; truancy sweeps; home visitati ons; district- wide critical response plan training; school saf
ety plans; and training of school campus supe rvisors and noon duty personnel.
5. Make ever
y effort to use established best practices for de-escalation outlined in the Countywide Crisis Management Philosophy document (Policy 301) when interacting with any student
in crisis. Additionally, SROs will be familiar with , and, when feasible, assist with the CUSD Site Emergency Procedures for Special Needs Students as appropriate.
6. When dealing with a student in crisis, specif ically those students with special need s or other considerations, SROs should, if re asonable under the circumstances, work collab
oratively with school staff to resolve the situation, while attemp ting to respect individual education plan expectations as advise
d by school personnel.
C. TERM OF AGREEMENT
This Memorandum of Understanding will remain in effect for the 2025-2026 public school fiscal year. Either part
y will have the righ t to cancel this Memorandu m of Understanding upon 90 days advance written notice during the term of this agreement.
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D. RELEASING STUDENT INFORMATION
The Parties shall fully comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and all other applicable state and federal laws regarding confidentiality of student information.
Information obtained by school staff may be shared with a law enforcement officer/agency or SRO if the information is not derived from school records. Information from school records may be shared under any one of the following circumstances:
1. “Directory Information” unless the parent/guardian has asked specifically that such information be kept confidential.
2. With consent of the parent/guardian
3. When the educational agency or institution de termines that there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals and disclosure is necessary to protect the health or safety of a student or other individuals. (34 C.F.R. §
99.36)
E. SPAN OF CONTROL/JURISDICTION
1. One full-time police officer will be assigned to provide the School Resource Program at Carlsbad High School, Carlsbad Village Academy, and district offices located in the City of Carlsbad.
2. One full-time police officer will be assigned to provide the School Resource Program at Sage Creek High School and district offices located in the City of Carlsbad.
3. One full-time police officer will be assigned to provide the School Resource Program at Valley Middle School, Calavera Hills Middle School, Aviara Oaks Middle School, and the nine CUSD elementary schools.
4. Enforcement/prevention/education/training/proactive activities will take place at these facilities and at public meeting places within the community as they relate to the activities at these facilities.
5. In accordance with public health guidance, the City of Carlsbad Police Department will ensure its officers abide by all public he alth ordinances and requirements, including directives from the state regarding COVID protocols for K-12 settings.
6. The officer will remain under the direction a nd control of the City. Requests for work assignments from these facilities will be give n to the Family Services sergeant of the Docusign Envelope ID: 1A6B3826-D44F-420F-8C32-BE458B3AC6A2 July 29, 2025
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2025-2026 School Year
Carlsbad Police Department, who will thereafter assess the request and direct the school resource officer to respond appropriately.
F. RESOURCE COORDINATION
Resource and local management will be coordinated at:
1. Carlsbad Unified School District, 6225 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, California, 92009, (760) 331-5000.
2. City of Carlsbad Police Department, 2560 Orion Way, Carlsbad, California, 92010, (760) 931-2100.
G. COST
Cost sharing
will be based upon the fully benefited salary of one-half of one full-time police officer
for ten months of the school year for Carlsbad High School, one-half of one full-time police officer
for ten months of the school year for Sage Creek High School, and one half of one full tim
e police officer for ten months of the school year for Valley Middle School, Calavera Hills Middle School, and Aviara Oaks Middle School. The portion funded by the District will be prorat
ed based upon the school year at a rate of one-half of the total salary of three full-time sworn police officers for a total cost of $250,999. See Exhibit A for details.
H. EMERG
ENCY CAMPUS CLOSURES
If either Carlsbad High School, Sage Creek High School, Valley Middle School, Calavera Hills Middle School, or Aviara Oaks Middle School have restricted on campus activities due to any federal, state or local emergen
cy (e.g., COVID-19), the District may request that no SROs be provided while on-campus student learning is reduced or suspended. If the District requests that no SROs be provided while on campus, student learning is reduced or suspended due to a federal, st
ate, or local emergency, the total cost to be funded by the District will be prorated to deduct for any months for which no SROs are requested.
I. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Memorandum of Understanding will be effe
ctive August 19, 2025, and the District will
pay annually to the Finance Director of the City the agreed amount as outlined above. If the agreement is canceled as herein permitted, the
City shall return to the district the portion of
such payment allocable to the period of the term subsequent to the effective date of cancellation.
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J. COVID-19: CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER The Certification of Compliance: Cali
fornia Vaccine Verification for School Resources Officers in Schools is
attached as Exhibit B and incorporated as if fully set forth herein.
K. SICK/INJURY/EMERGENCY ABSENCES
The City will
provide general law enforcement services to Carlsbad High School, the middle and elemen
tary schools, Carlsbad Village Acad emy, and the district offices via the patrol division whenever the regularly assigned SRO is t
emporarily unable to provide said services
due to illness, injury or emergency leave, or when called away to perform other duties that preclude the officer’s presence at the school. In the event of such occurrence, calls for service will be handled based on need in relation to oth
er demands for police services.
L. CITY EMPLOYEES
City employees who perform duties under this agreement are not, for any purposes whatsoever
, employees of the School District.
M. NO RIGHTS IN THIRD PARTIES
This Memorandum of U
nderstanding is not intended to benefit any third parties, create rights in favor of any third part
ies, or create a special relationship between any City employee and any other person.
N. LIABILITY A
ND INDEMNIFICATION
Pursuant to Section 895.4 of the Government Code, the City and the District agree that each will assume the full liab
ility imposed upon it for any of its offi cers, agents, or employees for injury caused by a negligent or wrongful act or omission oc curring in the performance of this
agreement, and each party agrees to indemn ify and hold harmless th e other party for an y loss, cost, or expens
e that may be imposed upon such other party by the virtue of Sections 895.2 and 895.6 of the Government Code.
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O. AUTHORITY
The individuals executing this MOU and the inst ruments ref erenced in it on behalf of the
District and City each represent and warrant that they have t he legal power, right and actual
authority to
bind the District to the terms and conditions of this MOU.
Carlsbad Unified School District City of Carlsbad
By: By:
Title:
Geoff Patnoe, City Manager
Date: Date:
Attest:
City Clerk
Approved as
to form
Cindie McMahon
City Attorney
By:
Sr. Assistant City Attorney
Director of Purchasing
7/11/25
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Memorandum of Understanding
2025-2026 School Year
EXHIBIT A
Carlsbad Police Department
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM
Cost-Sharing Breakdown
Costs are for one mid-step police officer (Step C) for one year a nd include only personnel costs; equipment and maintenance costs are not included.
ANNUAL POLICE OFFICER PERSONNEL EXPENSES RATE COST PER OFFICER Salary Mid-Range 120,3041
Education Pay Flat Rate 6,632
Overtime 7.500% 9,0230
Holiday Pay 132 hrs 7,635
Life Insurance 0.05% 60
AD&D 0.025% 30
Health Insurance Flat Rate 24,672
LTD 0.445% 535
STD 0.459% 552
Medicare 1.450% 1832
Unemployment 0.500% 632
Retirement (CalPERS) 20.490% 27,693
Uniform Allowance Flat Rate 1,200
TOTAL PERSONNEL COSTS 200,799
SRO COST ALLOCATION
CARLSBAD HIGH SAGE CREEK
HIGH
MIDDLE
SCHOOLS TOTAL
Annual Personnel Costs 200,799 200,799 200,799 602,398 Monthly Personnel Cost 16,733 16,733 16, 733 50,200
School Year Cost 167,333 167,333 167,333 501,998
HALF SHARE COST TO SCHOOL 83,666 83,666 83,666 250,999
*amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar and are based on rounded salary including education pay, uniform allowance, and holiday pay
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