Sept. 13, 2011 | Castro Valley High School is the former stomping ground of liberal icon Rachel Maddow and the gateway between more grungy secondary schools in San Leandro and Hayward and white bread Tri-Valley preps to the east.

But, does the school recognized for its decades-long devotion to keeping the precepts of the Valley Girl persona alive really need to spend $185,000 annually on hiring a full-time Alameda County Sherrif deputy? (Full disclosure: I’m a graduate of Castro Valley High, Class of 1992. Go Trojans!)

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday the contract which will be paid by the Castro Valley Unified School District. According to a staff report the contract for up to $185,000 to employ a single school resource officer will run through June 30, 2010.

This is not a new expenditure for the school district. The high school has employed a sheriff deputy for the past two decades and trained to perform various law enforcement duties in addition to indentifying students who may potentially become at-risk youths.

Although breaches in security at the high school have been few and far between, there has always been fear of nearby school violence reaching Castro Valley. School officials at nearby San Leandro High School last Friday confiscated a loaded gun from the backpack of a student caught in possession of marijuana.

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