Board keeps looking at issue of police in schools

Valley school officials still are proceeding with plans to bring police officers to the district’s high school and middle school, but also have undertaken a series of initiatives designed to further probe the idea

By: John Tredrea
   Valley school officials still are proceeding with plans to bring police officers to the district’s high school and middle school, but also have undertaken a series of initiatives designed to further probe the idea.
   On July 23, five school board members gave their support to the idea of having one or two Hopewell Township police officers work full time in Central High School (CHS) and Timberlane Middle School (TMS) after hearing about the proposal from Chief Michael Chipowsky. The other four board members were not present.
   The officers who would work in the schools would be known as School Resource Officers (SROs).
   The Police Department already has applied for a federal grant of $250,000 to pay for two officers for a three-year period. Chief Chipowsky expected the department would get a response about the grant by the end of summer. If the answer is "yes," there could be a police presence in both schools by January. If the answer is "no," funding could be sought elsewhere.
   Grant money to pay the officers would not be available before January. The officers could still be put in the schools without the grant, but the money to pay them would have to come from another revenue source, such as local taxation. It’s also possible the district would opt for one officer, who would divide time between the schools, instead of two officers.
   Scheduled to be at the school board’s Sept. 10 agenda meeting is Lawrence Township officer Brian Colario, who will accompany Hopewell Township Police Chief Michael Chipowksy.
   "Sgt. Colario helped start the SRO program in Lawrence," Chief Chipowsky said. The Sept. 10 meeting is open to the public, as are all school board agenda meetings, and questions and comments will be taken from the public during the discussion on SROs that will include Chief Chipowsky and Sgt. Colario.
   On Sept. 13, members of the Hopewell Valley school board will visit Lawrence High School. "One of the things we’ll be doing there is talking to the high school’s student council representatives about having police in their school," Hopewell Valley school board president Sally Turner said Tuesday.
   On Sept. 17, students from Lawrence High School will make a presentation on the SRO issue during the Hopewell Valley school board meeting that will take place during school hours, with students in attendance, in the CHS media center. This will be the board’s regular meeting, which will begin at 1:15 p.m.
   Superintendent of schools Robert Sopko, who backs bringing in the SROs here, said he views the proposed step as a proactive move that would provide the schools with a resource to improve safety and overall well-being, not as a step needed to provide security or fulfill a need for armed guards. Chief Chipowsky, CHS principal John Bach and Timberlane principal Steve Cochrane have made similar statements.