Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Tumwater is looking to amend its contract with the Tumwater School District for the School Resource Officer Program to reflect recent changes in staffing.
As part of its consent agenda on Tuesday, March 17, the Tumwater City Council authorized Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff to sign a memorandum of understanding that formally documents a temporary modification to the program.
The move was made in light of the reassignment of former School Resource Officer Tyler Boling, who was stationed at Tumwater High School and Bush Middle School for eight years.
Boling was placed on the patrol division in February to maintain minimum staffing levels, according to acting Tumwater Police Department Chief Carlos Quiles.
Before the reassignment, the city used to fund Boling’s salary, while the district funded the salary of officer Seth Stauffer, who is primarily assigned to Black Hills High School and Tumwater Middle School.
With Strauffer being the only school resource officer left, the memorandum aims to ensure the two parties will continue to equally split costs by sharing the responsibility of paying Strauffer’s salary, which is $16,000 per month.
If the school district signs the memorandum, it will take effect until Aug. 31, 2026, or until staffing levels have been normalized, whichever occurs first, according to the document.
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OlyBlues
What an embarrassment for the city of Tumwater to cave to the police guild and promote officers from patrol to Detectives, create a shortage in patrol, and then claim an emergency that they must pull Officer Boling from Tumwater Schools despite signing an SRO contract 70 days prior. Tumwater Police and Mayor Dahlhoff were very cavalier and reckless and arrogant in making this decision. It is almost like we are watching a leadership amateur hour. Relationships and trust are built over time. The new chief and mayor show they do not care about promises and relationships, and will do what they want to prioritize internal promotions over signed contracts and the safety of our students. They have broken trust with the community and TDS. Within a month, we see the last remaining SRO investigating a sexual assault on a child by a volunteer wrestling coach in Tumwater Schools. I implore TSD to start talks with the Sheriff's Office about bringing an SRO deputy to Tumwater Schools. Tumwater Police clearly do not care or honor contracts. TCSO has a strong track record of providing quality SRO's and can attract viable law enforcement candidates. After this latest PR disaster with Tumwater Police and Mayor Dahlhoff, it is time for a change.
Friday, March 27 Report this
Bokooo
Just curious....as a tax payer, where do I go to get something for nothing?
Friday, March 27 Report this