Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Deputy Shaun Mudd, left, shown in this InkFreeNews file photo with fellow Deputy Elizabeth Johnson, is set to become the second school resource officer in the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. after the TVSC Board OK’d a memorandum of understanding with Kosciusko County at its meeting on Monday, Sept. 18.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

MENTONE — Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Deputy Shaun Mudd will join his colleague Rick Shepherd as a Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. school resource officer.

At its regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 18, the TVSC Board approved a memorandum of understanding with Kosciusko County, allowing the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office to provide a second SRO to Valley.

It was announced at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Merit Board meeting last week that Mudd would be the new SRO at Valley if the MOU was approved.

The county is to pay 20% of Mudd’s salary, with TVSC covering the rest.

Valley is funding its portion via using part of a $100,000 Indiana Department of Homeland Security Secured School Safety Grant it received.

TVSC Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Grant Writing Lori Tilden-Geiger shared more about the grant at Monday’s meeting.

She noted it’s the sixth straight year Valley has received the maximum amount via the competitive grant.

The rest of funds from the grant will be used to help digitally map the corporation’s schools for security purposes, using Collaborative Response Graphics.

Tilden-Geiger said that would update maps the school already had, due to changes with teachers and rooms over the years and the maps not being “standardized.”

Digital maps of schools are also now required under Indiana law, she noted. The mapping will be both of the buildings’ interiors and exteriors.

“The coolest part of this mapping is that it’s compatible with platforms that the emergency personnel use, so they’ll be able to pull it up on their phone,” said Tilden-Geiger.

The mapping system also synchronizes with Valley’s school safety software, Raptor.