Mentor superintendent: city, district reach ‘considerable progress’ on officer contract; plan calls for city‑hired part‑time SROs

Pete Heath, the district superintendent, told the Mentor Exempted Village Board of Education on May 29 that talks with the city’s representatives and its law director produced “considerable progress” on an agreement to place officers in district schools for the 2025–26 school year.

Heath said the plan shifted from hiring retired officers directly as district employees under an SSO (school security officer) model approved by the board in February to hiring them as part‑time SROs (school resource officers) employed by the city and assigned to Mentor buildings. Heath described the proposed contract as covering 175 days a year, with typical daily hours “about 7 hours and 7 hours and 15 minutes to 7 hours and 30 minutes” so the positions would remain part time under the city’s interpretation of hours.

The change was prompted, Heath said, by the city law director’s view that officers could not be district employees for this assignment; the city’s staff and district negotiators met for more than two hours to work through acceptable language. Chief Gunge has been combining the SSO language the district previously developed with the district’s current SRO contract so the city contract will address both full‑ and part‑time SRO assignments, Heath said.

Heath and other speakers flagged benefits and reimbursement as the outstanding issues. Heath said retired officers value health insurance above wage-level differences, because many are not yet Medicare‑eligible after 25 years of service. He said the city is self‑insured and uses Medical Mutual, and that city and district staff will compare plan details and “work through” reimbursement clauses for claims and benefits before finalizing the contract.

Heath outlined a phased roll‑out: two SROs at the district’s middle schools (Bellflower and Ridge) for the coming year, then two more in each of the two following years. He said the city will consider the revised contract at council meetings in mid‑June and early July; if the city approves at its early July meeting, some retired officers who are already in retirement programs could be on duty at the start of the school year, but Heath cautioned that new retirees would have to observe a 60‑day break before returning and that the SRO credentialing/training timeline also affects start dates.

Board members pressed for a firm commitment that the four officers would be in place by the first day of school (Aug. 18). Heath and other district officials said they could not guarantee that timetable because the district does not yet have a fully executed contract and because hiring/retirement timing, council approval and SRO training schedules all affect start dates. He said one or two officers might be in place if the city approves the contract on the target July date, but added that Chief Gunge had told the district it was more reasonable to expect a September start for some positions.

No formal board action was taken on the contract during the meeting. Board members and district staff said they would continue negotiations with the city law director and present final contract language to the board after legal review.

The superintendent also said the district and city planned to present a single combined SRO contract for both full‑ and part‑time SROs to simplify administration and to reflect the revised employment relationship.

Ending

District and city officials described the negotiations as substantially advanced but not complete: benefits and reimbursement language remains under negotiation, the city must place the contract on council agendas for approval, and several procedural steps (retirement timing and SRO training) could delay some hires beyond the first day of school.