Town will fund full-time school resource officer in Barrington

Community discussion on safety and security planned for later this month

Posted 3/2/18

The Barrington Town Manager will include money in his proposed municipal budget to make the school resource officer a full-time position.

Funding for Barrington's school resource officer is …

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Town will fund full-time school resource officer in Barrington

Community discussion on safety and security planned for later this month

Posted

The Barrington Town Manager will include money in his proposed municipal budget to make the school resource officer a full-time position.

Funding for Barrington's school resource officer is currently divided between two budgets — the police department pays about $72,000 of the salary and benefits while the school department pays $25,000. The school resource officer splits his time, spending two days at the schools each week and the rest of his time on regular police duty.

Barrington Police Chief John LaCross has been requesting that the school resource officer position be made full-time, so that the officer could spend all five days in the schools. 

But during recent budget talks, members of the school committee decided that they would not prioritize funding to make the position full-time. 

On Thursday, Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said the position was too important not to fund. He said he was including money for a full-time SRO in his proposed municipal budget, and hoped that school officials continue to contribute $25,000 toward the position.

"We need to do it," he said. "We'd be crazy not to do it."

If the proposed budgets are approved, School Resource Officer Josh Melo would spend five days a week at Barrington's public schools.

The school resource officer fulfills a number of duties in his work at the schools, and officials shared positive reviews for Officer Melo during a recent school committee meeting. 

Chief LaCross said he has been requesting that the SRO position be made full-time since 2006, and reiterated his request following the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14.

"We need to have more of a presence in our schools," said the chief during an interview on Monday, Feb. 26. 

Mr. Cunha agreed with Chief LaCross and is also hopeful that state and federal authorities understand the challenges facing communities. Mr. Cunha said he wants the state and federal governments to dedicate additional funding for improved school security measures. 

Meanwhile, members of the Barrington School Committee met on Thursday night to discuss a number of topics, including school security. Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore said he was scheduled to meet on Friday with the town manager and the police chief to discuss school security, and added that officials are planning to hold a public community discussion on safety and security later this month. A date had not yet been set for the event.

School committee member Anna Clancy said she supported the idea of a community discussion, but wanted to make sure that there was still a heavy focus on the schools. 

"I'm feeling that our school communities are incredibly stressed with this right now," she said, adding that there needs to be a sense of urgency for when this discussion takes place. "It's an open wound that needs attention."

School committee member Dr. Megan Douglas said she wanted to make sure the community discussion included a focus on overall wellness and not just law enforcement issues. 

School committee member Gina Pine reiterated her request to add a mental health professional to the staff at the high school. She said there was a clear need for the position. 

And school committee chairwoman Kate Brody asked the committee's student representative, Christopher Sarli, if he felt prepared and equipped to deal with an emergency at the high school. 

Christopher said students practice lockdown drills periodically. 

"I know what to do, but I don't think you're ever prepared" for that type of incident, he said.

A Hampden Meadows resident spoke during the first public comment period of the meeting. He said he was new to town and his children were still too young to attend the public schools, but he was very concerned about what security measures were in place to protect them once they did start going.

"How can I ensure that when they go to school they're safe?" he said. 

The resident also asked what he and other residents could do to help make the schools safer.

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