Resource officer brings the bacon for school fundraiser

RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI) - Every spring, students at South Fork Elementary celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday with a Seuss-A-Palooza fundraiser. The carnival fundraiser helps teachers pay for additional classroom supplies and projects.

But with the cost of school supplies on the rise, the PTO director and school resource officer came up with an unusual idea to raise more money.

"Last year, I think we raised about $4500. Which is great from a school carnival, but we wanted a little bit more," PTO fundraiser director Pam Barker said. "We needed that little bit of a push. I was in the office one day and I just said, 'officer crews, would you be willing to kiss a pig?'"

Officer Julio Cruz has been the SRO for the city of Ribby for the past two years.

He says the job is more than just making the school safe. It's his job to give the students a strong positive role model and relationship with the police.

"I think it's extremely important to to our school resource officers to be able to build that kind of bond and be a role model for them. So when they have the opportunity to grow up and be out in society, they they're not afraid of police," Cruz said.

While he was initially apprehensive, with a little convincing from the students, he eventually agreed to kiss the pig. So long as they raise a decent amount for the school.

"Helping in any events like this helps with that relationship building. They're not going to forget the fact that I kissed a pig. I'm sure not going to forget that," Cruz said. "But that relationship, that bond, gets stronger every time I interact with the kiddos."

The students raised more than $7,400, which meant it was time for officer Cruz to pucker up.

He says he gaged through the experience.

"They told me they cleaned it. I'm sure they did. But still, it it smelled gross," Cruz said. "Eventually, I kissed it, and that was the end of that."

Teachers often have to pay for extra classroom supplies out of pocket.

Thanks to the teamwork of the pto and sgt cruz, 22 teachers will receive an additional $200 to buy classroom supplies.

Principal Teresa Codling says it's great to see the community and school work together for the benefit of the teachers and students.

"When you have everyone that can work together for the benefit of the classrooms and the students, it's a great feeling," Principal Codling said.