JAY — Though no money for a police officer appears in the proposed RSU 73 budget or the Jay Police Department budget, it does not mean the safety of schoolchildren is not pressing on officials’ minds.

RSU 73 Superintendent Robert Wall and Jay police Chief Larry White Sr. say they still plan to pursue grants to fund the position.

The two asked Jay selectmen in January to put a question before voters during the June referendum. The board split on the decision but the majority agreed to put it on the ballot.

It was estimated Jay would pay $27,148.63 to employ the officer during the school year, and the money would be included in the Police Department budget. RSU 73 would pay the remaining estimated $55,896.31, which would include benefits and training. A couple of Jay selectmen pointed out that Jay also pays about 71 percent of the school district’s budget that exceeds the state’s essential programs and services funding model.

Due to RSU 73 budget constraints, the money for a police officer was not put in the budget proposed for 2013-14.

The district and White are looking for federal grant funding that was promised to schools by Washington after a tragic shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in 2012.

If the district pursues such a grant, the school board would have to approve it, Wall said.

The hope is that a police officer would be able to serve the schools in Jay and Livermore but that would depend on the scope of the grant, Wall said. The Livermore Falls school will close as of June 30 and students from that high school will attend the Jay school.

The safety of the district’s schoolchildren is very important, he said.

White concurred.

“It remains a priority,” Wall said. “I think we all should maximize the safety of our children.”

He also realizes that they need to look for outside funding sources, Wall said.

“I still want to move ahead with a school resource officer at some point, hopefully within the next year,” White said. “I’m also mindful of the cost, and after giving it a lot of consideration and conferencing with Dr. Wall, I agree the best way to move forward is to seek out federal grants in regarding school safety and a school resource officer.”

White said he thinks the need for school safety has changed over the last 15 years.

“I don’t take the duty lightly in regards to protecting our children at school and out of school,” White said.

A school resource officer not only provides protection from outside harms but would also assist in educating students to harms of bullying and drugs. He or she would also handle any harassment threats from other students and assaults, he said.

“My main purpose at this point is to ensure that townspeople know and understand that money for a school police officer has not been put into the Police Department budget nor has it been put into the school budget and with that being said I still believe we need one,” White said. “We just need to find the finances through a grant.”

In the past five years, White said, he has put an officer in the schools on different days each week when it is manageable and can be scheduled.

“I believe we do need to have a presence in the schools to help safeguard our children,” he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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