Guymon schools seek school resource officer to boost safety

Guymon Public Schools is looking to add a school resource officer for about 3,000 students spread across multiple campuses, a move that puts day-to-day safety, campus relationships and emergency readiness at the center of the hire. The district said it wants someone who can build positive relationships with students, staff and the community while helping maintain a safe learning environment, and it said CLEET certification is preferred.

That wording matters because a school resource officer is not just another staff position. In a district like Guymon, the officer would sit at the intersection of security, student support and visitor control, with responsibilities that can ripple through disciplinary response, campus access and emergency planning. Guymon Public Schools lists seven sites in its district administration materials, Carrier, Homer Long, Homer Long Annex, Prairie Elementary School, Academy Elementary School, North Park Elementary School, Guymon Junior High School and Guymon High School, plus an Administration Center.

Guymon High School already lists Lisa Duran as a resource officer, showing the district has had at least one dedicated law-enforcement presence on campus before this latest hiring call. The new posting suggests district leaders want to reinforce that model with someone visible, approachable and integrated into campus life, not just someone who shows up in a crisis. The district was also asking parents, guardians and community members to complete a Safety & Security Survey, pointing to a broader review of school protection rather than a one-off personnel change.

The timing lined up with the end of the school year. Guymon Public Schools said the final week of school was underway and promoted the Class of 2026 graduation for Friday, May 22, 2026, at 8 p.m. at McKinnon Memorial Stadium. That means the officer search was unfolding as the district shifted from spring routines into summer planning, a stretch when campus access, activities and security needs often change.

At the state level, Oklahoma created a three-year School Resource Officer Program in 2023 through HB 2903. Lawmakers said participating districts could receive about $96,000 to hire an SRO or make security upgrades, backed by a one-time $150 million school safety appropriation. Oklahoma statute also requires SROs in the program to complete CLEET active-shooter emergency-response training, and CLEET says its course is 40 hours long and includes 4 hours of mental-health instruction.

That training framework helps explain why Guymon’s posting emphasizes both safety and relationship-building. In a city of 12,241 where 61.3% of residents are Hispanic or Latino and 49.2% of people age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, trust and communication are as important as enforcement. The district’s challenge now is finding an officer who can meet the state training bar, fit the culture of a multi-campus district and be realistic to recruit in a tight law-enforcement labor market.