NORTHFIELD — A new school police officer for the Pioneer Valley Regional School District could be in place by January, Pioneer Superintendent Jon Scagel said.
The district’s former “resource officer,” Heath Cummings, left the district in September, at which time the School Committee was anticipating turnover in its own membership that was to come from the November election — five of the committee’s current 12 members are new to the committee since the election.
The question of hiring a new officer was asked for the first time by the new committee at a Curriculum and Personnel Subcommittee meeting last week.
The attorney general’s recommendations for the role of the resource officer have changed since the district hired Cummings, so the committee is working on updating the job description and the memorandum of understanding between the district and the local police departments. In doing so, the committee hopes to have input from all five of the district’s principals, the police chiefs of the district’s four towns and potentially representatives from the county sheriff’s office.
“We’re trying to gather as much information as we can. It’s a pretty big job,” said Curriculum and Personnel Subcommittee Chair Karen O’Neil.
Although the School Committee determines the job description for the resource officer, the officer is ultimately hired by a local law enforcement office. Both of Pioneer’s two previous resource officers were hired through the Northfield Police Department. O’Neil said that the School Committee is considering alternative options for hiring the officer; either collaboratively, through multiple local police departments or through the county sheriff’s office.
The new resource officer will likely divide his time between the district’s five schools, O’Neil said, whereas the previous officers worked primarily at Pioneer Valley Regional School, the district’s school in Northfield for grades seven through 12.
Contact Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ex 261.