Bakersfield Police will keep patrolling Bakersfield City School District campuses after the City Council extended an anti-truancy program for another year.

The two officers also spoke to parents if a child had a problem, and BCSD Instructional Support Director Tim Fulenwider says they’d like to get four officers by 2020. BCSD has one of the highest truancy rates in Kern County, which Fulenwider says can be linked to increased crime.

The program costs the city about $6-thousand a week.

Kelli Pierce