COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Colbert County Board of Education (CCBOE) has voted to raise its budget for School Resource Officer (SRO) salaries.

Before the CCBOE can hire new SROs, the Colbert County Commission must also agree to provide additional funding.

CCBOE Safety and Security Coordinator Brad Counce told News 19 that the commissioners will be meeting on July 6 to discuss this agreement.

“Their part of that will be to take care of benefits, vehicles, equipment, and training for the new SROs,” Counce said.

Counce later said that the CCBOE has been trying to find ways to hire new SROs, and he’s optimistic that this order will be approved.

“Anything we can do to make our schools safer, we’ve got to try and do that,” Counce said. “And we knew from the get-go that we needed an SRO in every school, we just couldn’t fund it.”

Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine told News 19 that he’s happy to help add more security to local schools, especially with the increase in gun violence in schools.

“When you have an active shooter in a school, every second counts,” Balentine said. “This will put someone in every school, every day.”

The CCBOE previously employed three full-time SRO’s and two part-time SRO’s. If this order is approved, they will have eight full-time SRO’s on staff.