CENTRE — Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver last week held an introductory meeting of what he hopes will become a mainstay of his department’s future security planning: a school safety committee.

Shaver, who has requested additional funds for enhanced school security since he was first elected in 2006, said he felt compelled to call together community leaders and local school officials to try and formulate a plan to better protect students in Cherokee County.

Among those in attendance at the Feb. 6 meeting, held at the County Administrative Building in Centre, were educators, parents and local elected officials.

Shaver explained to the gathering that he wants the group to meet regularly to swap ideas, set goals for better communication and enhanced physical security, and seek ways to adequately fund a “school safety plan” once all details are finalized.

“What I'd like for you all to do, more than anything, is go back to your school, your business, your homes, and think about these issues,” Shaver said.

Shaver said that since the 2012-13 academic year began, he has been assigning one off-duty deputy per day to circulate among the county's K-12 campuses to ensure at least a meager school security presence.

“I'm going to try and work with the Board of Education to get some funding relief, because that was not in our budget,” Shaver explained. “I want to try and keep that going until the end of the [school] year.”

Shaver said he believes every county school should ultimately have a dedicated, on-site resource officer throughout the entire day, both to act as a deterrent to any outside threats and deal with any security-related issues among the student body.

“The children … who have issues could come to the security officer and tell him about a problem way before it ever happens,” Shaver said. “I don't want anything bad to happen to anybody's children, but I especially don't want anything bad to happen to anybody's children in Cherokee County.”

Shaver said he is hesitant to sign on to the idea of arming teachers, but remains open to suggestions from anyone who wants to contribute to the committee's final plan.

“I think by next year there will be grant funding in place,” Shaver said. “We need to go ahead and develop a plan and have it ready, for when that grant money becomes available,” he said.

Shaver said he feels it is important for the Board of Education and the County Commission to work together to secure funding and implement the committee's final plan.

“Now's the time to get something done,” Shaver said. “I don't think we'll regret it.”

The committee will meet again Wednesday, Feb. 20. Shaver encouraged anyone interested in offering suggestions for the security committee to call 256-927-3365 or visit www.cherokeecountyalsheriff.com.