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“I love working with the youth," says Jason Easley, a veteran Valley Center police officer who will start next month as school resource officer at Valley Center High School. “I have a good bond with a lot of the teenagers in the community."

School resource officer prepares for new job
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: April 07, 2016

Jason Easley feels like he's been preparing for this role for a long time.

Easley, a veteran Valley Center police officer, was named school resource officer for Valley Center High School. He'll start in April.

"I'm excited to begin a new chapter in my law enforcement career," Easley said. "I love working with the youth. I have a good bond with a lot of the teenagers in the community. I just want to do everything I can to give back to the community that afforded me the opportunity to be a police officer for so many years here."

Easley will be the first SRO at the high school since it opened at 93rd North and Meridian five years ago.

"This is a great day for Valley Center High School," said Karen Hager, a parent and member of the school's site council, which pushed for the position. "This is a positive step, not only for the safety of our kids, but just to have another positive influence and someone kids can go and talk to and share their lives with."

Principal Jamie Lewis said it's been a goal of his to get an SRO in the school since it opened in 2011.

"To have that resource in the building, to be an added benefit for students, staff and really parents and patrons of our community, it's just an extra sense of security," Lewis said. "… It really goes a long way toward sustaining a positive learning environment. We're excited about where we're at."

Getting the new position wasn't easy. It required the action of two governing bodies and negotiations over legal jurisdiction as well as funding.

The high school is located outside the city limits of Valley Center, which puts the facility under the jurisdiction of the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office has said it couldn't afford to place a full-time deputy in the building.

However, the sheriff's office was willing to give Valley Center police law enforcement authority on the property. The move opened the door for negotiations between the city and school district. The school agreed to pay the officer's salary and benefits when he is working at the school, while the city pays for the time he works for the city.

The city council and the school board unanimously approved the arrangement.

"We appreciate the school board and the city council," Hager said. "This really showed how the community can work with our elected officials to reach a positive outcome."

Easley said he looks forward to the new assignment.

"I'm excited," he said. "… One of our jobs as adults — whether it be parents or school administrators, a business owner, etc. — I think our job is to help coach young people to have the proper tools to make proper decisions when those decision points come up."

Easley, 35, has been a full-time officer with the police department for eight years. Previously, he worked for the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office.

Easley grew up in Wichita and graduated from West High School in 1999.

Easley said he sees his new job as a mentor, a friend, a leader and a police officer.

"There are many roles," he said. "All of those roles will hopefully help create a safe learning environment. That's the goal."

Easley said he's been preparing for the job.

"I think all of us here, everyone I work with here at the police department, we wear a lot of hats anyway," he said. "I believe those same hats we wear as police officers are similar to the qualities you have to have to be able to be inside that school. It's all about relationships. Building relationships builds public trust. … We do that every day we're out here doing our jobs."

Easley said much of law enforcement is about helping people, and that's what he wants to do as an SRO.

"Some of the public views law enforcement in a negative light," he said. "I believe here in Valley Center we provide a very high level of policing and customer service, all wrapped up into one. … I believe we have the ultimate customer service job. Our job, literally, is customer service. No. 1, we're under a magnifying glass. We're always in the public eye. We always need to make sure that we're professional at all times. We need to dress professional. We need to act professional. We need to be respectful. If we want those things in return, we have to show those things."

Easley said he enjoys working in a smaller community because he has the chance to know people and be known.

"And you have an opportunity to put faces with those names and with those faces, you have an opportunity to learn a family tree, a family history, which is very, very important," he said.

Easley said he would like to be involved with a variety of student activities, including sports, because they're opportunities to have contact with students.

"I want people to know me because I want them to come to me if they need something," he said.

That's exactly how Hager and Lewis view Easley's role.

"Jason, obviously, has the ability to connect with other individuals. That includes people of all ages," Lewis said. "We feel like he can really connect with our student body and that's where it's most critical. He's a positive guy, with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy and solid planning in terms of what he'd like to do, instructional aspects in the classroom, and being out and about. … Jason brings a lot of leadership, communication ability and outreach that I think are going to be very beneficial for the families of Valley Center High School."

Valley Center police Chief Mark Hephner said maintaining a connection with schools is important for his department. The city staffs an SRO at the middle school and the intermediate school.

"A great deal of what we do involves youth," he said. "It's hard for us to get a connection if we're not in the schools with them. … It gets you connected to know where the potential problems are, but mainly it's as a role model and getting as many kids as you can involved in things that are positive."





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