Feds to the rescue?

Kids are committing fewer crimes in Baker County.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that one of the factors officials credit for the decline in juvenile crime — the city police department’s school resource officer, who works at Baker High School and Baker Middle School — might not have a job after June 30.

That’s because the Baker School District, which pays about 65 percent of SRO Shannin Zednik’s annual salary and benefits of about $77,000, needs to slash its spending.

The school district is not planning to pick up any part of the SRO tab when the new fiscal year starts July 1.

Baker City, which is financially better off than the school district but not flush with cash, pays the other 35 percent. The city might not be able to cover the entire cost for the SRO.

We understand that the school district and the city, in common with most government entities around the state, have to cut back.

But we don’t want to see Baker County lose any of the momentum it has built over the past decade in reducing juvenile crime.

Last year, for instance, there were 92 juvenile crime referrals in the county — 24 fewer than the previous year. That’s a 21-percent drop.

Fortunately, the federal government, and its seemingly bottomless pockets, might solve the dilemma.

We urge the City Council, when it meets tonight, to approve Police Chief Wyn Lohner’s proposal to apply for a federal grant that would keep Zednik on the job.

We don’t always endorse such grants. They’re always temporary, and when the federal money runs out the city must either pony up the dollars or lay off an employee.

But in this case the federal grant, which would cover about 89 percent of the school resource officer’s salary and benefits for three years, makes sense.

The city already is paying the 35 percent. It is not proposing to hire a new officer whom it couldn’t afford without federal help, and probably wouldn’t be able to keep when the federal money goes away after three years.

The feds require that the city, if it accepts the grant, guarantee that it will keep the school resource officer for at least one year after the grant ends.

The city can do so by saving the money it has been spending on the SRO. Over three years, that would amount to about $85,000.

The city shouldn’t pass on a chance to ensure, for at least four more years, that a vital job stays on the payroll.

Keeping kids out of trouble not only helps them and their families — it makes Baker County a better place to live.