JOINT PRESS RELEASE BETWEEN THE OFFICE OF MAYOR SCOTT LONG, THE WABASH CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WABASH CITY SCHOOLS:

WABASH,IN   Mayor Long, Police Chief Matt Bruss, and Wabash City Schools Superintendent Jason Callahan would like to announce a cooperative effort to continue the School Resource Officer program within the Wabash City School System.
All three community leaders agree that the program is an asset to our community, and the interaction of our Police Officers within the school environment pays tremendous dividends to our community as a whole.
Recent budget cuts within the Wabash City Schools threatened to eliminate the program and Mayor Long met with Chief Bruss and Mr. Callahan to discuss continuing the program using funds from the Public Safety Option Income Tax (LOIT) distribution that the City receives. These leaders have formulated a plan which will enable the officers to continue to provide not only protection of the students and staff at the schools, but also mentoring of young people by the Police Officers of the Wabash Police Department.
We currently have one certified School Resource Officers (SRO) Officer Sam Hipskind, and will train additional officers in the SRO program as manpower permits at the Wabash Police Department. We look forward to working together to ensure that this program continues.
Mayor Scott Long: “Public Safety LOIT funds can be used for Police, Fire, or EMS activities or equipment, and I cannot think of a better use of these funds. Maintaining the strong relationships that have been established between the officers and the students in our schools is paramount to the future success of not only our schools, but our community.”
Jason Callahan: “Student safety is Wabash City Schools’ top priority and we feel fortunate to have the leadership of Mayor Long and Chief Bruss who share his priority. The willingness to work together to find solutions is one of the things that makes Wabash a great place.”