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RSU 04 board debates adding full‑time school resource officer as budget talks narrow to two targets
Summary
The RSU 04 School Board considered whether to include a full‑time school resource officer in next year’s budget and agreed on two planning targets: a 3.0% overall tax‑increase target if Sabatus Primary School is closed, and a 4.5% target if SPS remains open with an SRO.
The RSU 04 School Board considered whether to include a full‑time school resource officer in next year’s budget and agreed on two planning targets: a 3.0% overall tax‑increase target if Sabatus Primary School (SPS) is closed, and a 4.5% target if SPS remains open and the budget includes a full‑time SRO.
Board members said the SRO question factors strongly into voters’ likely choices and the district’s public‑safety strategy. “We would like to see 4.5 with SPS open and an SRO and 3% with it closed,” a board participant summarized during a discussion of draft scenarios. The SRO position the board discussed is estimated in the presentation at about $142,000 for salary/benefits.
Why this matters: the SRO debate links directly to the referendum on whether to close SPS and to voters’ appetite for the district’s tax request. Board members split on priorities: several said safety and the community relationship benefits of an SRO argue for keeping the position, while others urged minimizing the tax impact by excluding the SRO. Board members repeatedly emphasized that the practical value of an SRO depends on having one assigned year‑round and dedicated to the district rather than shared and pulled back to patrol duty.
Discussion details and positions cited by name in the meeting included: - Board member Robbie said he supported keeping an SRO and trying to reach a 3.0% target if SPS is closed. - Board member Scott and other members said they preferred the district aim for a straight 3.0% target in the closed‑SPS scenario and hoped reductions (for example, insurance savings) could be found to reach that number. - Several board members, including Theresa and Christy, emphasized student and staff safety and described relationships and preventative programming that SROs historically provided to the district’s schools. - Superintendent‑level and operations staff described how prior SRO arrangements were structured: historically the district contracted with Sabatus Police Department, paying a portion of the officer’s salary while the officer remained a Sabatus employee and was sometimes pulled back to patrol duty if the department had staffing shortages. Staff noted a full‑time dedicated SRO (district‑employed or contracted with guaranteed assignment) would be a different arrangement and emphasized the search and certification requirements involved.
Next steps: the board directed administration to prepare budget materials for the special meeting on April 16 that reflect both scenarios—(1) a 3.0% overall increase assumption if SPS is closed and (2) a 4.5% plan if SPS remains open and includes an SRO—so the board can act after the public vote on SPS. The board also asked staff to identify specific reductions that would be needed to reach the 3.0% target and to update any figures (for example, health insurance) that could change the final percentage.
Board members framed the exercise as preparatory: the April schedule (SPS vote first, then the board’s special meeting) will determine which scenario the board finalizes. The discussion produced no formal motion or vote recorded in the workshop.
The board said they will publish the updated materials and review the refined scenarios at the April meetings before finalizing a warrant article for the budget vote.
