Manteca Unified will have a fourth school resource officer and the Manteca Police Department ranks will increase to 84 police officers thanks to the expansion of a partnership between the city and school district.

The City Council Tuesday approved an updated agreement with Manteca Unified regarding the use of shared recreational facilities and school resource officers. It goes before the school board next month.

Manteca has provided school resource officers to high school campuses within the city limits — Manteca, East Union, and Sierra — since the mid-1990s.

The three current positions are 100 percent funded by the city.

The fourth position being assigned to work with elementary schools will be made possible with an annual $120,000 reimbursement from Manteca Unified.

Police Chief Stephen Schluer and MUSD Assistant Superintendent Victoria Brunn both praised the effectiveness of the school resource officer program.

Besides performing law enforcement duties, they also serve as mentors.

“They are invaluable,” said Schluer of the SROs when it comes to keeping schools safer and officers being able to build better relations with teens who get the opportunity to interact with them away from possible encounters during incidents.

The bottom line is to work toward “different outcomes” by being proactive. In essence, SROs are a form of community policing with the community being the individual high schools.

Schluer, who himself was an SRO from 2004 through 2007, said officers have an opportunity to change lives.

Recently, he was approached by a young woman who shared that was the case in her situation and wanted to thank him for their encounters years ago.

Schuler said he had noticed signs that the then teen was starting to dabble in gangs. He was able to intercede and work with her to steer her in a different direction.

The police chief said the SRO program over the years has substantially reduced police calls to campuses.

The department will hire an 84th officer. In doing so, it will open up the fourth SRO position for officers within the ranks to apply to fill.

The SROs typically take their vacations during the summer.

They also run two programs during break — the Junior Police Academy and the Junior Crime Scene Investigation Academy.

They work into the summer patrol schedules as well.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com