The Mars School District is moving forward with a plan to increase security by creating a hybrid school police force.
The hybrid force would be made up of two current Adams Township police officers and three full-time school police officers. The Adams Township cops would still be employed by the township but permanently assigned- during the school year- to the district.
Mars School Board President Dayle Ferguson said the goal is to have an armed police officer in every Mars school starting at the beginning of next school year.
“We have come to the conclusion that this is a necessary and important investment,” Ferguson said. “The goal here is safety. The goal here is protection.”
The board unanimously approved a one-year agreement between the district and Adams Township at a special school board meeting on Monday.
Under the agreement, the district would pay $75,000 per Adams Township Police Officer (a total of $150,000 for two officers), and the township would also provide additional officers for traffic services during peak hours at no added cost to the district. Under its current agreement with the township, the district pays $107,965 for one police officer, who is assigned to patrol the district and its schools each day, as well as an additional $39,960 for traffic control.
The start-up costs associated with the agreement are included in the district’s 2019-2020 General Fund Budget, according to Ferguson. The Adams Township Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the agreement at an upcoming May meeting.
“We will be working work collaboratively to create a team that will keep our staff and our student safe,” Ferguson said.
Other school districts around the state are using this “blended model” of school security.
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