NORTHFIELD — Posting a police officer in the Pioneer Valley Regional School District proved to be a controversial topic during Northfield’s annual town meeting Monday night, but the tow’s $7.9 million budget that included money for that job was approved after all was said and done.
Some residents questioned whether a school resource officer was necessary in a small, rural school like Pioneer and asked why Northfield — one of four member towns of the district who would benefit from the officer — must front the cost for it.
Northfield Police Chief Robert Leighton had an answer for the former: student safety in the town’s schools is a top priority for him, and he’d rather have an armed, trained officer on-site if a threatening situation were to arise than run the risk of not having that line of defense in place.
As for fronting the cost? Since the Pioneer Valley Regional High School is in its town, the Northfield Police Department would provide the officer.
Leighton described the changing nature of the world, including rising drug abuse problems and a marked uptick in public and school shootings nationwide, as one of the top reasons for having an officer present in the schools.
“It’s been my priority since becoming chief; there’s nothing more important than the safety and lives of our children,” Leighton said. “I have children in the schools, I pay taxes and I want to make sure our kids have a safe learning environment. Crossing our fingers is not a viable strategy for protecting our children.”
Other residents questioned the harm having a police presence in the schools could have, citing an officer carrying a firearm or giving students the perception that schools are becoming more like jails.
Ruth Miller, the Pioneer superintendent, detailed the various roles the resource officer would serve, which include acting as a confidant to the students,
“It’s mostly preventive,” she said. “There’s a lot of times where children will want to go see and talk about problems with their families, or broader things. It’s not about discipline, it’s not the assistant principal’s job. It’s another set of eyes and ears. Most schools out there are trying to have them, if they don’t already have them. All schools I’ve worked in have had them, and they’ve been extremely helpful.”
Though the majority of residents supported the resource officer and omnibus budget, they weren’t so sure about changing how some of the most important roles in the town government are filled.
A proposal to change the town clerk from an elected position to a position appointed by the Selectboard failed by a thin margin on hand-count votes.
Those opposed said they’d rather not cede local control of their municipal government and preferred to opt for the sometimes messy process of democracy, but proponents of the proposal noted that governing a town is becoming much more complex and it would be better to have someone who is sure to have the proper qualifications in the job.
The same proposal for the treasurer and tax collector positions, however, passed.
Voters passed over articles related to raising money for legal expenses incurred while opposing the now-suspended Northeast Energy Direct pipeline project and those related to a deal that recently fell through to purchase and conserve land near the former Northfield Mount Hermon School campus.
Residents approved:
Spending up to $250,000 to purchase a new ambulance for Northfield EMS.
Capital expenditures of $134,000, including money for a thermal imager for the Fire Department, a dump bed for a Highway Department truck, a gun safe and a replacement cruiser for the police, and computer servers and heating, ventilating and air conditioning work at Town Hall.
$12,475 for paving the Pioneer Valley Regional School.
$30,000 on a cardiac monitor for the ambulance.
$6,000 to complete a cover for the wastewater treatment facility.
$100,000 for rewiring Town Hall.
$78,000 for repairs at Northfield Elementary School and the Fire Station.
$11,300 of Community Preservation Act money to help repair the foundation of the First Parish Church of Northfield, purchase fireproof cabinets for town historic records, and fund the publication of a pictorial brochure of the historic barns in Northfield.