At the end of the 2024-25 school year, former School Resource Officers (SROs) Sergeant Chuquillangui and Officer Reyes were promoted, leaving the secondary campus without police protection. The change has raised questions and concerns from the community about school safety.
Since this shift, the Falls Church Police Department (FCPD) has been working to hire replacement SROs. The goal was to find at least one replacement for the position before the 2025-26 school year started.
“[The FCPD] is currently processing several other candidates,” Superintendent Dr. Terry Dade explained, “I do believe that at least having one officer split between Henderson and Meridian would be helpful while everything gets sorted out.”
While the community was aware of promotions of the former SROs, no one was notified that they would not be replaced, or that the secondary campus would be left without a regular officer.
“The community was not officially notified because we believed we were close to hiring a new SRO,” Dade commented.
The problem is not only hiring certified SROs, but also regular officers to work for the FCPD. At the department, there are currently 11 vacancies, five of which are police officer positions. A major factor contributing to the difficulty of filling these positions is the pay gap between the officers in Falls Church compared to those in Arlington.
According to the Police Officer Pay Plan on fallschurchva.gov, Step One for an entry-level officer is $51,707/yr. However, in Arlington, according to joinarlingtoncountypd.com, the pay for an entry-level officer is $72,013.50/yr and automatically increases to $90,012 on July 1, 2026.
“It is difficult as Arlington County pays their police officers more than we are able to pay,” City Councilwoman Laura Downs explained. “The City Council and the general government staff are looking at trying to put more of the budget towards compensation in the future.”
The Falls Church City Council has also issued a statement on the lack of SROs.
The department is working tirelessly to hire and refill their vacant positions but there is no official timeline or date for when SROs expected back on campus. As of now, it is anticipated that there will be officers at arrival, dismissal, and certified SROs around the secondary campus at least once or twice aweek.
“The city council has made it clear to our city manager that filling the police officer vacancies is extremely important to ensure public safety, traffic control, and community outreach. The SRO position is one that the city council feels very strongly about. We support the SROs, and we want to see those positions filled as soon as we can.”
As of Mon. Jan. 5, 2026, the FCPD transferred Officer Lance Fischili and his K9 partner, Faro, to be an SRO for the remainder of the school year. Ofc. Fischili joined the FCPD in 2021 and became the K9 officer two years ago. He will be working at the secondary campus during the day in an attempt to ensure a safe learning environment for students.
