ABOVE: Shannon Bass.

FAIRMONT–On Tuesday evening, the Fairmont School Board heard an update from Shannon Bass, the school resource officer (SRO) and a member of the Fairmont Police Department. Bass has been serving as SRO for the district since 2019.

“For my main role… it’s to get the kids to look at me… and not at all of the equipment I wear… but that I’m a plain, normal person. I want to be a resource,” Bass said.

Bass said that all of the various SRO training he has been to has said it takes a minimum of three years to be accepted by the student body.

“In my eyes, the kids have accepted me,” Bass said.

He went on to say that he tries to explain to students that his office is safe and that while he is a part of the district, he’s also separate and that he’s available to help.

“I preach that if they’re having a bad day… they can come in and talk about it,” Bass said.

Another aspect of his role as an SRO is to work with human services to handle child protection cases with students in the district.

Superintendent Andy Traetow thanked Bass for embracing his role as SRO and welcoming it with open arms.

“We are very fortunate as a school district to have a long-standing, positive relationship with the Fairmont Police Department and as you were alluding to, that’s a huge asset not only for our school district, but for our community,” Traetow said.

School Board Member Nicole Green said that she appreciated Bass saying he wanted to be known as a resource and that it aligned with the board’s goal in reinstating the position of SRO.

“Whether it’s help in learning how to handle their first car accident or students needing to talk about something,” Green said.

Bass said, on behalf of the Fairmont Police Department, that it appreciates the opportunity to let students, the younger members in the community, know that non-threatening help and support is available for them.

“There are too many kids out there who don’t hear, ‘we’re proud of you.’ You see their faces light up with the simple words of, ‘hey, I’m proud of you. You’re doing a great job,’… A lot of people don’t know what these kids go through,” Bass said.

Next, the board heard a report from Traetow, who shared that he’s working with Activities Director, Mat Mahoney, on the gymnasium floor design during the resurfacing project. Traetow stressed that the floor won’t be new, but that the surface will look new after some maintenance.

He also provided some Information Technology (IT) updates. Traetow said that they district purchased new devices at the elementary school in 2021 and that they are now at the point of needing to be looked at again.

“We always talk cyber security in today’s age. There is a lot of need for that,” Traetow said.

Finally on that topic, Traetow said that the district is waiting for a second quote on the Performing Arts Center lighting project.

Later in the meeting, the board approved a three year contract for Traetow with an 11.97 percent salary increase over thee years.

The board accepted the following donations:

— $1,000 from the Fairmont Fire Department with $500 going to the 4th grade field trip and $500 for the high school’s weightlifting program.

— $300 from the Dale and Pat Knudson Family Foundation to the district’s Robotics programs.

The board approved the following employments:

— Chelsey Jensen as an elementary special education paraprofessional

— Kierra Curry as a long-term substitute elementary teacher.

— Joice Foster as a long-term substitute elementary teacher.