It was just earlier this month, at the most recent school board meeting, when Kennett Consolidated School District superintendent Dr. Barry Tomasetti talked about the value of having school resource officers in schools as a way to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Now, the school district, in collaboration with the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department, has received a $60,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to add a school resource officer to the district’s schools in New Garden Township.

The Southern Chester County Regional Police Department announced last week that it has selected police department veteran Mario Raimato to lead the School Resource Officer Program, which will officially begin on Nov. 5.

Raimato grew up in the Kennett Square area, attending St. Patrick’s Elementary School through eighth grade and then attending Kennett High School. He graduated in 1984 and then went to West Chester University. After earning a bachelor’s degree, he headed to the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Academy. When he completed his training, he was hired by the Kennett Square Borough Police Department where he served as a patrolman from 1993 to 1997. In 1996, he joined the New Garden Police Department on a part-time basis, and eventually became a full-time officer in 1997. He has served with the New Garden Police Department, which evolved into the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department, ever since.

More information about this program or other public safety activities can be found on the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department’s page on the New Garden Township website at www .newgarden .org.