BAY MINETTE - Just weeks after nine students were arrested for fighting at Baldwin County High School, and coinciding with intruder/shooter training for area law enforcement officers, Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland announced school resource officers would be pulled from local schools.

The announcement came during the regular Bay Minette City Council meeting Monday evening. The chief cited funding issues as the cause.

"Dr. (Alan) Lee (Superintendent, Baldwin County Schools), said there is no money in the budget to supplant the cost of having a car and officer at the schools, so as of today we are pulling those officers and resassigning them to other areas of the department," Rowland said.

For the last few years, officers have been stationed at the two schools, offering a presence to deter inappropriate behavior and activities, as well as offering a mentor, guide and confidante for students.

Additionally, Sgt. Jim Eissler, who began as the school resource officer at the high school, and moved to the middle school two years ago, taught the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program to fourth and seventh graders.

The program teaches students how to deal with peer pressure, violence, saying no to drugs and alcohol and more.

Rowland said the GREAT program will be terminated as well.

"The superintendent doesn't have the funding to continue supporting the SRO, and we didn't get the GREAT grant this year because of changes in the requirements. We didn't meet the requirements," he said. "Without the (financial) support of the superintendent and a lack of funding this year, it is not feasible to continue the program."

In previous years the City of Bay Minette had an agreement with Baldwin County Public Schools to provide officers at the schools as well as the GREAT program, Rowland said.

"If they provided the salary and rental for equipment - the car, radio and any other equipment they might need for certain situations, for one officer at the high school, then we would provide at no charge an officer at the middle school, provided that we could teach the GREAT program," he said.

"There was no provision made by the previous superintendent, Dr. (Faron) Hollinger, to fund the program," Rowland said.

Lee said the program is not going away, but is being restructured to better meet the needs of the school and community.

"We will continue to have an officer there at various times throughout the day, he just wouldn't be there from the beginning of the day to the end of the day," Lee said in a telephone interview.

"There are particular times when an officer is needed more than others. You can kind of predict those times. When students are in class, you're not likely to have problems," he said.

Rowland agreed and said the change will be beneficial in a number of ways.

"We will still have an officer there in the morning, when school is beginning, in the afternoon, when school is letting out and then throughout the day on-duty officers will pop in, walk the halls and make a presence," he said.

He said no one officer would be assigned, and all officers will be encouraged to stop by when they have time.

"This will allow us to better utilize our officers, and all officers will be involved in the schools," the chief said. "Every officer will know what to expect when they get a call over there.

"They'll be able to learn who these students are and get to know the administrators," he said. "It's not a setback, it's just a way to adapt to the situation."

Rowland said the change will also allow the officers who have been stationed at the schools to do more with their time.

"There are some days when they are not really needed, they're just a presence there. This will allow us to better utilize those officers. It will help us to be more efficient," he said.

The Baldwin County Sheriff's Office has a School Resource Officer program as well, but according to SRO Jeff Spaller, it is funded through the sheriff's office.

Lee said Bay Minette is the only city in the county that does not provide a resource officer to the school.

Later, comments from Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery.