Deputy Murphy to serve as SRO once more with MCUSD

Safety has been and continues to be a top priority for Mariposa County Unified School District.

MCUSD is continuously addressing student and staff safety and looking for ways to improve the safety aspects of school campuses.

Sarah Matlock, Director of Student Services, provided an update from the Safety Committee during the school board meeting on Aug. 15.

“I’m here to give an update on our SRO (School Resource Officer) and our ongoing collaboration with the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office,” said Matlock.

“Having an SRO to serve the school district is an invaluable resource.”

Having an SRO has not only increased collaboration with the sheriff’s office, it promotes positive relationships among students and MCUSD staff.

Toward the end of the 2024-2025 school year, Matlock explained the district was exploring options to increase law enforcement visibility and presence with a possibility of looking at retirees among other options.

“Through collaboration with the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office we’ve come up with a plan for serving through the SRO program,” Matlock said.

Deputy Patrick Murphy will continue to serve the district.

“He will remain based at the high school but will have a schedule where he is getting out to other sites on a regular basis,” explained Matlock.

“This new rotation model where he is out district wide allows him to become more familiar with staff and students, it increases law enforcement visibility and presence on our outlying campuses and it increases an overall sense of safety.”

This also allows Murphy to become more familiar with how school sites run their safety drills, lock down drills, fire drills, etc.

If Murphy is at one of the outlying school sites, the sheriff’s office has a group of officers who will be available to respond to calls.

“The sheriff’s office plan is to have those officers more visible at all sites throughout the district,” continued Matlock.

“As school begins next week, the sheriff’s office has a schedule for officers to be out at all our sites welcoming students.”

The increased collaboration and communication with the sheriff’s office has been invaluable at many levels.

“We’re very thankful for that partnership as they continue to serve students, staff and the entire community,” Matlock said.

Board chair Wayne Forsythe thanked Matlock and law enforcement for their work and collaboration.

“Our county partners have helped with grant money to help fund this,” Forsythe said.

“Sheriff Briese, Captain Smith and Sergeant Collins have done a tremendous job collaborating with us and I tip my hat to all of them. You all are doing a great job,” said Forsythe.