Town Poised To Add Second Police Officer To Schools

Police Chief Tom Coyle wants a second school resource officer for the EG schools and, after a discussion Monday night, it looks like he will get it, whether or not the schools want to help pay for it. 

"I would support just proceeding with this. It’s worth doing for enhanced security," said Council President Michael Isaacs at a meeting of School Committee and Town Council members at Swift Community Center Monday night.

The cost of adding a second school resource officer is budgeted at $60,000 for 2014, but that cost would rise in 2015, since the fiscal year begins July 1 and any new officer wouldn't start until sometime after that. 

"The full amount would not hit this budget mainly because of timing," said Isaacs.

The cost of the first SRO is split between the town and the schools, but at the meeting on Monday, School Committee Chair David Green was reluctant to commit school budget money for a second officer.

"If we were going to be spending additional money on personnel ... focusing on ... student problems, not only on the detection but on the prevention side, there’s ... a body of evidence that would suggest that we might benefit more by having a sort of social worker, psychologist or things of that nature in preventative mode for mental health issues as opposed to strictly having an SRO," said Green.

"The feedback I’ve been getting [on the first SRO] has been [great]," said Coyle. "God forbid something was to happen, especially at Cole. I would just rather have someone there, trained in the use of firearms because everyone knows, within seconds, within seconds, people are falling. I would just like to have that second officer handy in the other schools."

"I know the safety of the kids is important but … how do we weigh the security of that facility and other needs?" said Town Councilor Mark Gee, referring to Cole Middle School. Coyle said the size of the both high school and the middle school are what motivate him to seek additional help, but he said the second SRO would also visit the elementary schools on a regular basis.

The Town Council must adopt a budget by Wednesday, May 15. They have a meeting on Monday, May 13, to try to wrap up budget issues.