Salisbury vetos plan for cop in Triton school By Stephen Tait Staff Writer
NEWBURY - Triton Regional School District will not get a full-time police officer assigned to it despite the desire for such an officer from two of the school's three member towns and the superintendent.
For almost a year, the school and the leaders from the three towns that support Triton - Rowley, Newbury and Salisbury - discussed the possibility of funding an officer at the school to help with the burden on Newbury's coffers for police and fire services.
However, at a meeting to decide on the details of a new regional agreement, leaders in Salisbury refused to pay their $30,000 share of the $90,000 bill for the position, killing the proposal and leaving the school without a full-time school resource officer.
"There was a point when the Salisbury selectmen were in favor it," said Vincent Russo, chairman of Newbury's Board of Selectmen. "They changed their mind. They said they canvassed their voters and found no support for an SRO; no support for providing $30,000.
"Rowley and Newbury were still in favor of it, but it had to be unanimous."
Henry Richenburg, chairman of Salisbury's Board of Selectmen, refused to say why the town did not want to fund the position - whether it be a lack of interest or a lack of funds.
"I just don't think at this time we want to share any of this stuff," he said of how they came to the decision not to fund the police position.
Richenburg said the board did "talk to some people" about whether they would support the funding. He did not say who the people were, just that they were "people who would have voted."
He said that in the end, an officer at the school is not necessary or something Salisbury is going to help fund.
"At this time, the Town of Salisbury didn't feel like they would go ahead with it," he said. "We just don't think at this point it is the right thing to do."
Lane Bourn, chairman of the Rowley Board of Selectmen, said he liked the idea of the officer even though coming up with the $30,000 would have been difficult.
"We would be really hard pressed to find that money," he said.
Superintendent Sandra Halloran said she would like to have a school resource officer, not because of any safety concerns in the school but because the position helps to inform students about the role of the department in the community.
"It's a way for the students to get to know the police presence in the community," she said. "I think its helpful, and I think it benefits everyone."
The idea for an officer started last year, Russo said, when Newbury was seeking to get reimbursed from the $80,000 or so a year it spends on police and fire calls to the school. Hosting charges, as they are called, are costs the town must absorb for public safety services to the Triton high school and middle school located in Byfield, a parish of Newbury.
Town officials wanted to get reimbursed for the money they spend from "numerous" police calls and a "fair share" of fire calls, Russo said.
From that, Russo said Halloran asked why not just fund a police officer at the school, a common practice at many high schools in the state.
The school resource officer would have served as an alternative to hosting costs.
Mike Reilly, Newbury's police chief, provided research on such a position and made a presentation to a group of town and school leaders to inform the town leaders about the cost of the position.
Reilly did not return phone calls and could not be reached for comment.
While the position for an officer will not be funded by the three towns, Russo said he still holds out hope that an officer will get funded through different means. Russo said Reilly is going to seek grant money from the state to help pay for the position.
Depending on the size of the grant, Russo said, Newbury would still be willing to commit its $30,000 and hopes Rowley would also.
"Then we could leave Salisbury out of it," Russo said. "We would be the good guys, and we could do what we think is right."
Russo said if the grant money was, for example, $60,000, he would approach both Salisbury and Rowley leaders to see if they would pay $10,000 each to help fund the officer and keep Salisbury in the loop.
"If the Police Department can pursue that and can get a grant to do that, that would be great," Halloran said.
And in the end, Russo said, having an officer at the school would be a positive thing for the district.
"It makes police work proactive rather than reactive," Russo said. "You end up with students with a better appreciation of what the police can do for you rather than what police can do to you."
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