After a year in which school funding held up passage of the state budget for months, a pair of House Republicans are pitching a $250 million plan to pay for school resource officers for every school district in the state.

Rep. Shelby Labs, R-Doylestown, and Rep. Joe Hogan, R-Penndel, recently introduced House Bill 1898 to create a Safe Schools Fund grant program. It would be funded with $250 million a year earmarked for school resource officers for school districts that want to hire them.

“Unfortunately, for many school districts the cost is too prohibitive to employ them in every or even a district’s most at-risk school,” Labs and Hogan wrote in their co-sponsorship memorandum. “The cost of one SRO can easily exceed $100,000 annually, straining already tight local budgets. In the near future, we intend to introduce legislation that will establish and fund a grant program for all 3,000+ physical K-12 schools in Pennsylvania’s public, private, and charter schools. The grants will substantially cover the cost of an SRO should the school district or administration determine it is in the best interest of the school community.”

In most states, school districts that hire school resource officers pay for the officers themselves. In New York, the positions often began as grant-funded positions, with many districts dropping their school resource officers for several years when grant funding ran out. Their use has picked up again recently after school shootings in Parkland, Fla., and Uvalde, Texas.

The legislation’s future is murky after the months-long standoff in the state Capitol earlier this year. Education funding was a key sticking point in finalizing the state budge. The Republican-controlled Senate wanted to expand private school subsidies and the Democratic-controlled House pushed for more aid for the poorest public schools. Agreement came in part after Democrats dropped their proposal to send $100 million to the poorest public schools.

There is also disagreement over school resource officer legislation passed earlier this month in the state Senate requiring public school districts to have at least one full-time armed security officer on duty during school hoursGov. Josh Shapiro is opposed to the measure.

Debate on the bill fell largely on party lines with Republicans favoring school resource officers and Democrats favoring increased spending on mental health programs and gun safety bills. An October poll by Franklin & Marshall College found 69% of state voters favor requiring school districts to put an armed officer in every school, with 73% of poll respondents saying putting an armed officer in every school will make schools safer.

“School safety is a top issue for thousands of parents across our commonwealth,” Labs and Hogan wrote in their co-sponsorship memorandum. “One of the best ways a district can provide this sense of security is by employing and utilizing School Resource Officers (SROs) in schools. SROs are oftentimes members of the local law enforcement community who are properly trained and active in ensuring a positive learning environment. More importantly, a known SRO also serves as a deterrent for anyone looking to cause violence.”