Officials with Roseburg Public Schools have hired a safety coordinator.
Edward Villarreal is starting this week and will begin by doing a comprehensive assessment of safety and security at each school in the district. An RPS release said Villarreal recently retired after 28 years in law enforcement. His last assignment was as police personnel sergeant with the El Segundo Police Department in California. Prior to that, he held positions as a field training officer, lead defensive tactics instructor, active shooter response trainer and more. He also served as a SWAT team leader.
The release said that outside of law enforcement, Villarreal worked as a USA Football Youth Camp counselor and started a nonprofit organization, Project 99 Play for Life Inc. It educates teens, parents and teachers at the high school and middle school levels about suicide prevention and self-harm.
Superintendent Jared Cordon said Villareal comes with “vast skills and knowledge that will serve our district, staff, students and community well”. The school board officially approved his hiring for the newly created position last week.