MAYORS WILL BACK SCHOOL OFFICER BUT MUST FIRST WORK OUT FUNDING

BERNARDSVILLE -- School and town officials have tentatively agreed to
re-instate the position of resource police officer in the Somerset
Hills Regional School district next year. How the position will be
funded, however, is still up in the air.

The job was discontinued two years ago after federal funding for the
position expired and the district faced budget constraints.

But Superintendent of Schools Peter Miller said Friday, Nov. 19, that
re-instating the position was "a priority" prompted by the need to
bolster both school security and the district's substance abuse programs.

He said the mayors agreed on Wednesday, Nov. 10, that the officer was
needed. "There's been a lot of cooperation for this position which I'm
very happy about," he said.

But Miller said it was unclear whether the district or towns served by
the regional schools would include the position in next year's
spending plans.

On Friday, Bernardsville Mayor Joseph "Jay" Parsons said he hoped the
district would foot the bill.

"They already have a formula for billing the towns," he said on
Friday.

The district's tax formula for each town is based 95 percent on
enrollment and 5 percent on equalized valuation.

Far Hills Mayor Carl Torsilieri, said he believed it "didn't matter"
in whose budget the position was included, since the cost would be the
same to taxpayers.

"Either way, it'll come from the same pot," he said.

But Peapack-Gladstone Mayor Vincent Girardy said Monday he wanted to
see Bernardsville and Bedminster tote their fair share of the funding
before his constituents pony up any tax dollars.

"Bernardsville will have to write off at least three months of the
officer's salary, and Bedminster will have to step up to 40 percent of
the cost," he said.

During a Bedminster Township Committee meeting on Monday, Oct. 18,
Deputy Mayor Don Cross said the township would be willing to
contribute $20,000 a year for the position.

At that meeting Cross said the cocaine-related death of an 18-year-old
Bernards High School student last spring and other substance abuse
incidents has convinced him of the need for a resource officer in the
schools.

In the past the resource officer has been involved in teaching the
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in the district, among
other duties.

Grant Sought

In the past, a member of the Bernardsville Police Department filled
the resource officer position. Miller said that practice would
continue, since the district's schools are located in the borough.

According to Miller, it would cost about $60,000 a year to fund the
position.

The position was previously paid for with a $150,000 state grant,
parsed out at $50,000 a year over a three-year-period, to the
Bernardsville department. That grant expired in 2002.

The borough filed for another $150,000 grant earlier this year but was
turned down in the first round of funding, said Police Chief Kevin
Valentine.

"I've been told we're on the list for next year, but we have to wait
and see," he said. "While it's not up to me to fund the position,
personally, I hope we get the grant."

Whether a new cop would be hired or an existing officer given the
position remains to be seen.

The officer eventually selected would still have to be trained and
would not be put into the schools until September, Torsilieri said.