JAY — Darin Gilbert, the new school resource officer for Regional School Unit 73, shared his goals with board members Thursday night.
Gilbert, who was hired in June, will work 39 weeks as the school officer and 13 weeks for the Jay Police Department on patrol duty.
The town and the school district each put $50,000 in their 2019-20 budgets, which were approved by voters in April.
Gilbert said he is a liaison between the Police Department and schools.
“I’m not just worrying about crime,” he said. “Today, I helped a high school senior write a college paper. She had never done a police report before.”
School board member Lynn Ouellette said, “I heard a rumor that it is really hard to catch you in the office.”
Gilbert said he was lucky to spend an hour there, adding he spends a lot of time at the middle and high schools.
“My goal is to get to the primary and elementary schools at least once a week to see the kids, have them get used to seeing me around,” he said. “I’m already getting high-fives and hugs. I would rather do that all day long.”
Board member Tammy Frost said: “It took a lot to get you here. It was a needed position in the community. My son is a student at the high school. He says it is great to have someone walking through talk to you. It is a positive thing for the kids.”
Added Gilbert: “That’s part of my goal. Getting these kids to see law enforcement in a positive light rather than out on the street in a bad situation.”
In other matters, board and scholarship committee member Phoebe Pike announced there had been eight applications for the Marcia and Louis Brown Scholarship.
The committee was able to award $1,000 scholarships to Rylee Saunders and Jordan Daigle.
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