ROCKLAND, Maine — The city is considering whether a police officer should be placed in the schools.
The City Council will vote Monday, April 11, on whether to apply for a federal grant that would pay for 80 percent of the costs of an officer for three years. City Manager James Chaousis said while details of the grant have not yet been received, requirements are expected to be similar to those in past years, which would have the employee be mainly a school resource officer.
The city manager said the grant has been available in the past but the city has not sought it because of budget constraints. Chaousis said he has brought it before the council this year because it was one of the recommendations made last September as part of a review of the municipal Police Department by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.
Police Chief Bruce Boucher said last week that creating a school resource officer position has been one of his goals since he became chief in 2005. He twice has proposed the position but has not been successful in getting approval from the city and schools.
In 2006, the school board expressed support for applying for the grant but there was a discussion on whether Rockland was picking up the local costs while other district towns were not committing money.
Regional School Unit 13 Superintendent John McDonald said he would entertain a discussion on having a school resource officer for Rockland schools. He pointed out that in Belfast, where he was assistant superintendent, the high school had a school resource officer and that the program worked well.
McDonald said he has not discussed the matter with the board.
At Monday evening’s City Council meeting, councilors did not discuss the proposal but agreed to have the grant application included on next week’s meeting for a vote.