City Manager Ken Pulskamp presented the Hart district with a check to cover the cost of sheriff's deputies at district schools during the March 5 meeting of the governing board.

The city gave the William S. Hart Union High School District $747,347, which will pay for the 4.5 sheriff's deputies who serve as School Resource Officers on Hart district campuses during the 2007-08 school year.

Santa Clarita is the only city in Los Angeles County that covers the cost of School Resource Officers, Pulskamp said, and it reflects a long-standing successful partnership between the city and the Hart district.

Having the officers on school campuses not only facilitates rapid response in emergency situations, but it encourages deputies to form lasting relationships with students, which many times can actually head off crisis situations, according to district spokeswoman Pat Willett.