NORTHFIELD — A new school police officer should be in place this spring, Pioneer Valley Regional School District administrators say.
The problem of replacing former Resource Officer Heath Cummings, who left his job with the district in September, has become an opportunity for the School Committee and district administration to revise the technical points of the job — most notably in how the schools will deal with local law enforcement offices.
Previously, because the district’s central school is in Northfield, the resource officers were selected and hired through the Northfield Police Department.
With the new hire, Pioneer Superintendent Jon Scagel says he wants the position to be more regionally oriented, with the officer hopefully dividing his time more evenly between the district’s multiple schools. Rather than splitting the position between the school and Northfield Police as it had previously been, it will likely be split with either all four police departments or with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
In December the School Committee discussed the changes with the four towns’ police chiefs, and will meet again with them on Jan. 22 to solidify plans for the hiring process. Candidates will be chosen later, and will be selected by the school district rather than by the police departments, Scagel said.