On the school beat

High schools are like small cities, housing a complicated mix of students with different ages, ambitions and backgrounds.

And like any city, a school inevitably has to deal with crime.

In East Valley that’s where school resource Deputy Scott Kenoyer of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department comes in.

He joined the district at the beginning of this school year, trading a graveyard shift on patrol in Spokane Valley for days working in East Valley schools and the neighborhoods around them.

“The biggest thing is just to be approachable,” he said.

Shifting from the high-tension police calls in the middle of the night to work with kids was a big transition, he said, but both he and the students have grown more comfortable with his job.

“A lot of them are starting to open up more,” he said.

Kenoyer’s presence alone has reduced the number of fights, and he’s helped out in classroom presentations and worked with nearby residents on traffic problems near the school.

“Every time you see me doesn’t mean I’m coming to arrest somebody,” he said.

The school district had considered hiring a resource deputy for a few years. Then a year ago the Spokane Valley City Council reluctantly agreed to a funding plan in which the county pays for the position this year and the city pick up the bill in all the following years.

About half of the district lies outside city limits.

East Valley is the last of the Valley school districts to hire an officer in recent years. The district contributes about $15,000 to the roughly $100,000 yearly cost of the position.

School officials have said the benefits so far are well worth it.

“I love having him here,” said career and technical education director John Savage, who is also a vice principal.

Before, if a student crossed the line between misbehavior and criminal activity, the school would have to wait until a deputy from the Spokane Valley Police Department was free to handle it.

Now, all of Kenoyer’s time is devoted to the schools. That often goes beyond filing police reports, as the deputy applies his experience with legal and social-service agencies to school problems.

“He knows process things a lot better than we do,” Savage said.

The deal has worked out well for Kenoyer, too.

“It came at a good time,” he said. With daughters in the first and third grades, the hours have let Kenoyer, 41, spend more time with his family.

This isn’t the first time he’s worked in the high school. While earning a teaching degree at Eastern Washington University he student-taught physical education at East Valley..

He also played on EWU’s football team in 1986 and 1987.

After a year and a half in teaching he took up construction, then began his nine-year career with the Sheriff’s Office.

Since starting at the school district, Kenoyer said he’s found time to dig in and investigate cases.

“If I’m working a case here, I’m working it all the way through,” he said.

In one instance, a student with a green marker was drawing swastikas and writing threats to school staff on the walls. With the help of a teacher, Kenoyer was able to figure out who it was and lead the case to a malicious mischief charge.

General security at the school also has attracted much more scrutiny in recent years.

In addition to the drugs, gangs and other issues area schools face, two years ago an East Valley High School student pulled a gun on a teacher.

Despite some problems, Kenoyer said he was impressed by the pride and ownership students take in the school.

Whenever there is a problem, though, he’s watching.

“I patrol here,” Kenoyer said. “My schools here are my turf.”