NORTHFIELD — The important qualities of a new school police officer for Pioneer Valley Regional School District are largely agreed on by the School Committee, school administrators and the towns’ police chiefs; but some technical points of the position may be revised before the district hires anyone.
The School Committee has asked for input from town officials, police officers and school administrators as it begins seeking a replacement for the school’s former “resource officer” Heath Cummings, who left the district in September.
Since Cummings was hired last October, the state’s recommendations for the position have changed; so the opening of the position has become an opportunity for the district to revise the job description and the guidelines for the officer’s interactions with the school district and local law enforcement officials.
If there is a major change to the position, it will likely come down to which entity the officer reports to. Both of the previous resource officers were hired and managed by the Northfield Police Department. This was done per a state law that the School Committee interpreted to mean that for regional school districts, the resource officer must be hired by the police department of the town that the regional school itself is in.
At a meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 18), the School Committee and local police chiefs floated an idea of somehow regionalizing the position this time; although no one mentioned a readily available legal route for doing this.
The desired personal qualities for the position were largely agreed upon by all at the meeting.
“You want somebody that the kids can relate with. I don’t think you want a 60-year-old guy as a school resource officer,” said Northfield Police Chief Robert Leighton, who had final say in hiring the previous school officers. “You want somebody who has experienced what they (the students) have experienced in the correct timeframe, so they can communicate easier.”
Leighton emphasized that requiring some minimum amount of work experience in law enforcement could eliminate otherwise good candidates.
School administrators emphasized that the officer has to be able to make judgment calls on when a disciplinary matter becomes a legal issue.
The committee voted to start a hiring process for a new officer, but did not discuss a timeframe for it.
Contact Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ex 261.