On the Friday following the Evergreen High School shooting, Cindy Mazeika said she finally knew what day it was. The previous 48 hours had been full of panic, worry and grief.
“I'm using my voice and this platform to make sure that people know what is actually happening,” she said.
Mazeika is a mom and the president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at Evergreen High School. This week, one of the main things on her and other parents’ minds is the lack of a full-time student resource officer on campus at the time of the shooting.
“Anyone who says having an SRO would not have made a difference clearly has not been to Evergreen High School,” said parent and Evergreen Middle School PTA president Sarah Aller.
Aller and Mazeika told CPR News there have been growing concerns surrounding the lack of an assigned SRO at Evergreen Middle and High School that were brought up both months and just hours before the shooting.
“They did not give us equal resources,” Mazeika said. “Somebody made that decision, and our kids are not protected.”
The two students shot last week are still in the hospital, one remains in critical condition.
The most recent conversation about the lack of an SRO took place at Evergreen Middle School the morning of the Evergreen High School shooting.
Aller told CPR News the middle school PTA met at 9:30 a.m. to discuss upcoming plans for the school year, including the need to purchase $12,000 worth of new walkie-talkies for what she called a lack of security on campus.
“PTA also purchased 25 new radios since Jeffco did not provide our school with an SRO this year,” the meeting minutes read.
Just the night before, at the high school PTSA meeting, similar concerns were brought up. During open comment, a parent asked why the school still did not have a permanently assigned SRO. Another parent was concerned about long response times and a lack of resources.
“The response or the reasoning that [Principal Skyler Artes] was given is that the board has deprioritized the mountain community of funding for SROs because they consider us to be less crime and to have less probability of an incident,” Mazeika said. This mention is referenced in published meeting minutes on the PTSA website.
“There were gasps throughout the room and hands over mouths and disbelief,” Mazeika said. “The next question was, ‘What if there's a shooter?’”
Nearly a year earlier, on Sept. 19, 2024, a bullet was found by a Evergreen High School staff member in a stairwell, which was given over to the SRO. That same week, the school experienced unfounded threats that were circulating on social media. Weeks later, the high school’s full-time SRO went on medical leave, promoting the initial push by both parents and students for a replacement.
CPR News asked the district whether the mountain schools had been “deprioritized.”
“Jeffco Public Schools is firmly committed to our robust SRO program with our partner law enforcement agencies. In fact, Jeffco has increased our investment this year by covering fifty percent of the cost of the SRO program,” the district said in an email. CPR News has also requested emails sent to the Evergreen Middle and High School principals regarding SRO placements.
When asked how the SROs are assigned to schools, the district directed CPR News to the sheriff’s office.
“Regarding how the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office chooses to staff Evergreen High School and the other schools in their jurisdiction, you need to direct that question to them as Jeffco Public Schools does not have authority over that choice,” the statement said.
Mark Techmyer, another Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, said funding for their 14 SROs comes from the overall patrol budget, which is approved by the County Board of Commissioners. According to Techmeyer, the district reimburses 50 percent of salaries for SROs in 12 schools as well as pays for overtime. Techmeyer also confirmed the sheriff’s office decides what SROs are assigned to what schools.
In a press conference the day after the attack, Jacki Kelley with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the SRO assigned to Evergreen had been placed on medical leave. “Horrible timing, of course,” Kelley said. “So we have a couple of part-time SROs that share the school right now."
Techmeyer later confirmed the SRO in question had been on medical leave for 11 months. The sheriff’s office said the part-time SRO who was on campus before the shooting was on a rotating schedule across multiple schools and was sent to a nearby crash around 10:30 a.m.
“Making it sound like she's just been gone a couple of days, that even frustrates us more as PTSA and me as a parent,” Mazeika said. “The fact is, there wasn't an SRO there, and while it took two minutes to get in touch with the authorities, an SRO can immediately — first shot or first identification that there is an issue — call it in.”
“The fact that they keep bringing up that there was somebody there until 10:30,” she said. “Well, guess what? There was nobody there at 12:24.”
The next school board meeting is set for Oct. 16, where parents are hopeful they’ll be able to speak with the District Superintendent Tracy Dorland.
In a letter to parents and students at Evergreen High School, Principal Artes and Superintendent Dorland outlined a new security plan. The letter listed the following as a “commitment for a safe return.”
- Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) has informed us that they will ensure a full-time School Resource Officer
- A full-time, armed Jeffco Safety and Security Officer
- Dedicated Jeffco Safety and Security patrol coverage in the Evergreen area
- Additional administrative supports for the EHS administrative team
- Dedicated and floating substitute teachers for staff
- Additional office staff and dedicated, on-site communications support for timely response
- Additional mental health supports for students and staff
The high school remains closed this week. It is unclear when the school will reopen. Officials say athletic practices are optional and will resume off-site Monday.
