Paulding County schools are getting their own cops.
On May 19, the Paulding County School District board voted to create an in-house police department, shifting school resource coverage away from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office to a district-run force that officials say will focus solely on campus safety. The new department is slated to be up and running for the 2026-27 school year, with district leaders saying the move is meant to keep officers tied closely to students while freeing the sheriff’s office to reassign deputies across the rest of the county.
New department, same students, different badges
In a district news release, the board formally voted to "establish the Paulding County School District Police Department," a dedicated law-enforcement agency assigned to protect roughly 31,682 students and more than 4,000 staff members, according to Paulding County School District. The announcement stressed that the new department will focus exclusively on school safety. What it did not include was a full staffing blueprint or a detailed hiring schedule, leaving some of the nuts-and-bolts questions for another day.
What changes on Paulding campuses
Right now, the district funds 20 deputies who serve as school resource officers across its 34 schools. Under the new setup, district officials say the goal is to assign at least one officer to every campus, along with planned upgrades to school security cameras, according to Atlanta News First. In plain English, the district wants more consistent coverage, more tech, and less juggling of deputies between buildings.
How Paulding stacks up with other Georgia districts
Paulding is not exactly venturing into uncharted territory. Across Georgia, several school systems already run state-certified school police forces that place sworn officers directly on campuses rather than relying only on county deputies. One example: the Cherokee County School District requires its school police officers to complete a 40-hour Georgia School Resource Officer course at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, a model that shows how districts can formalize training and campus assignments, according to Cherokee County School District.
Research, trade-offs and the ongoing debate
While more officers in schools might sound like a straightforward safety upgrade, researchers are quick to point out the trade-offs. Studies have found that schools with school resource officers are more likely to refer students to law enforcement and may see higher numbers of arrests for on-campus misbehavior, even as districts argue that SROs help deter serious threats. A recent review and related empirical work summarized on ScienceDirect highlights both potential safety benefits and concerns about criminalizing routine student behavior, a tension policymakers wrestle with whenever they expand SRO programs, according to ScienceDirect.
On the local law-enforcement side, Sheriff Ashley Henson signaled that there is no turf war brewing. He said the Paulding County Sheriff's Office expects to keep working closely with the district as roles shift. "We look forward to continued collaboration with the district as we both serve the citizens of Paulding County," Henson said, according to Atlanta News First. District officials say the transition should allow the sheriff to deploy more deputies across the broader community.
The board’s vote effectively opens the door for recruiting officers, setting up training, and rolling out new security technology ahead of the fall semester. District leaders and local reporters say more details - including staffing numbers, formal agreements and specific timelines - will roll out over the summer. For now, the district’s announcement and local coverage agree on one key point: the new police department is expected to be in place for the 2026-27 school year, according to Paulding County School District.
