GALLIPOLIS — Gallia County Sheriff Joe Browning recently announced that, in partnership with the Gallipolis City School District, funding for a full-time school resource deputy has been secured for the school district.

Following Gallia Academy High School’s relocation to Green Township in 2009, funding has remained such that only a part-time school resource deputy could be stationed at the school.

The implementation of a full-time position in the city school district has been a goal for the sheriff’s office for some time, according to Browning; and, thanks to appropriations provided through school board funding and grants, in addition to a $6,600 Drug Use Prevention Grant through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, hiring a full-time deputy to that position became a possibility.

Browning further commented that the program utilizes a very limited amount of county general fund allocations — allocations that will include the deputy’s salary for the three months out of each year the officer will be available outside of class time during the school district summer break, as well as some fringe costs such as insurance and equipment.

“I wish to thank the school board, the county commissioners and Attorney General DeWine’s staff for the help in securing this funding,” Browning stated. “Deputy Chad Wallace will be working in the school resource deputy capacity for Gallipolis City Schools. I feel that Deputy Wallace will be a benefit to the program with his prior service in investigation and drug abuse enforcement. I also wish to thank Deputy Greg Frazier for his efforts as the previous school resource deputy.”

Deputy Frazier retired from the Gallipolis Police Department in 2007 and in 2009 became the school resource deputy on a part-time basis, according to Browning.

With the addition of this newest position, the total number of deputies assigned to school resource positions within the county has been raised to three, with a fourth deputy allocated to both patrol and instruction in the Gallia County Local School District buildings on a rotating basis.

The Buckeye Hills Career Center currently funds the remaining two full-time school resource positions — one deputy is stationed at the campus of the career center in Rio Grande and a second at the alternative school in Clay Township.

Contracts for both positions at the career center and the alternative school were recently approved by the Gallia County Board of Commissioners.

According to Browning, the newest full-time school resource position in the city school district has not allowed his office to hire any additional staff, but he is utilizing staff already in place to fill that position.