The following is the October Editorial written by Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller. 

In the Whitney Houston song, “The Greatest Love of All”, there are words in the first stanza that says: “I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.” If children truly are our future, like what I believe Houston says, then they need a culture in our schools where they feel safe and the best learning environment they can have. During my seven years as a school resource officer, I was witness to the joys and successes of children and youth, as well as the obstacles they had to overcome to reach their dreams and goals.

If children are our future, then I question the motives of our governor and lawmakers with recent action they have taken. As should have been the case, over the past decade, our lawmakers have focused on additional funding for schools to make sure our students’ safety and mental health are a priority. In July, the Democratic-controlled Michigan Legislature made the, in my mind, poor decision to cut this funding by 92% from the previous year’s budget of $328 million to $26.5 million. When hearing this news through representation from our Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, all I could do was sit in disbelief of the incompetence and lack of understanding by our lawmakers.

On Wednesday, September 25, the lawmakers passed a supplemental budget to House Bill 5503. This supports school safety, including school resource officers, and mental health. The approved supplement came after pressure from Republican lawmakers, which raised the initial amount from the $26.5 million to $150 million. The is better than nothing, but is still half of what was allocated last year. Another negative is these funds will not be available until March or April of 2025. Our lawmakers are failing our children.

Our children need help dealing with the problems they are facing in their lives, whether it is through mental health professionals or the school resource officers we have assigned to their schools. The funding through the state allows the school system the ability to do so. Our schools are typically the first point of contact for kids who are suffering from mental health, bullying, or any number of other problems. We need to do the best we can to help our children succeed.

From August of 1999 until January of 2007, I held a position as a school resource officer with the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety. There was a push at that time for school resource officers after the tragedy at Columbine High School in Colorado. The reasoning behind it was to protect our most cherished commodity, our children; but what I found out to be more important after I left the position was the mentoring, teaching, rapport and trust building that was built with the kids and school staff during that period of time. For these reasons, the school resource position and its importance to our school system, our office, and the community are some things I have held close to my heart.

The families of the Big Rapids Public Schools and Chippewa Hills School District are seeing the same thing today with Deputy Jason Losinski. Jason is heavily involved, not only taking complaints involving students in and outside of school, but more importantly developing lifelong relationships and bonds with the kids and faculties of our schools. Whether it is Jason doing this, or someone else from the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office, having a deputy in each of these school districts would only benefit the safety and wellbeing of our children. Speaking from experience, these kids will remember and feel more comfortable coming forward with problems in their lives because of the relationship Jason has built with them. The positive results our community and school districts have gotten from having a school resource officer in our schools far outweigh any of the negatives. I hope our lawmakers see this and give us what we need to help protect and mold our future adults.

It is time for a great reckoning to take place in America. Those in political positions need to listen to the people they are serving and provide the safe, hopeful, and respectful learning environments our students all deserve. Allow our school staff the environment to “teach them and let them lead the way.”