SAD 43 officials did not take a formal vote on the issue but agreed to go ahead with an application.

RUMFORD – Despite reservations by several SAD 43 board members, they generally agreed to go ahead with an application that could bring a police officer into the schools.

The decision, taken with a shake of the heads rather than with a formal vote, means that a school resource officer under the administrative umbrella of the Rumford Police Department would be assigned to the district’s five schools.

Steve Saunders, assistant principal of Mountain Valley High School, is writing the grant application.

If SAD 43 should receive the $125,000 grant, the money would cover the cost of a full-time police officer for three years. The district, in turn, would then have to agree to pay for a continuation of the position for one year.

As the grant proposes, the school resource officer would likely be assigned to the high school about 75 percent of the time. The remaining hours would be devoted to the remaining four schools in the district. The position would be year-round.

Lt. Wayne Gallant of the Rumford Police Department, said his department has been called to the high school nearly 300 times during the past three school years.

Saunders, who had worked in a district with a school resource officer before coming to MVHS, said such a position is positive and pro-active.

“This is much needed, given the amount of police contact I’ve had this year,” he said. “A low-key police presence does wonders for student safety.”

Superintendent Jim Hodgkins agreed.

“We need to strengthen the bonds of the school, police, parents and service agencies,” he said. “We need to provide an opportunity to build that trust.”

Gallant said the department has had an excellent record with its Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for 17 years in the district, and believes a school resource officer would be a positive influence as well.

“I personally think it’s critical to have a police officer in the schools. There’s a lot of violence out there, with fights starting in the schools then continuing outside. A police officer will help deter crime,” he said.

Roxbury board member Mark Touchette said he had reservations about the proposal, and believes there are as many negatives to the program as there are positives, but he agreed to go along with the board.

So, too, did Mexico representative Betty Barrett. “I still have deep reservations about entering into a contract with the Rumford Police Department,” she said.

Hodgkin said an ad hoc committee would be formed of board members, the Rumford police and school administrators to work out a formal agreement should the district receive the grant.

Word on that should come by summer’s end.

The board overwhelmingly turned down a similar grant opportunity several years ago.

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