SOUTH BRUNSWICK: District to pay for police officer at high school

By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
The school district will be picking up the tab for a police officer assigned to the high school.
Township Financial Officer Joe Monzo told Township Council members Tuesday night that the district has agreed to pay about $88,000 for the school resource officer at the high school.
Mr. Monzo said Township Attorney Don Sears would be drafting a shared services agreement with the district to cover the cost of the officer for the 10 months he or she is assigned to the school.
"I am glad to see the district paying this cost," Councilman John O’Sullivan said Wednesday.
The agreement would cover the salary of the officer and would depend on how much the officer’s salary is, according to Mr. Monzo.
Former police Chief Michael Paquette started the program in 1999, advocating placing officers in each of the district’s schools.
Many people initially opposed the plan, first proposed in 1998, until the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
Following that tragedy, parents in the district supported the program.
The township has bared the cost of paying for the officers on its own since that time.
In addition to this agreement, Mr. Monzo said the town might be getting between $250,000 to $400,000 in funds from the state for a landfill cleanup that the state has been holding since 1984.
Mr. Monzo said he does not know if the anticipated refund will materialize to be included in this year’s budget, and he doubts the state would include any interest earned on that money.
The good news for residents is the proposed budget continues to whittle away at an initial proposed tax increase of 5.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Following several budget meetings with the council, the increase has dropped to 3.42 cents per $100 of assessed valuation or an increase of about $65 for a home valued at $190,000.
The budget meetings will continue at 6 p.m. Tuesdays until the council formally introduces the budget sometime this month, according to officials.