Buckeye Central BOE weighs options to keep school safe and secure

By Jordan Studer
CCN REPORTER

NEW WASHINGTON — The Buckeye Central Board of Education met for their June meeting Wednesday evening. The Board spoke with New Washington Police Chief, Jeff Shook, regarding the possibility of potentially hiring on a School Resource Officer (SRO) to be on school grounds at all times during the school year.

“The fact of the matter is, there is evil in this world and we have to do our due diligence to protect the most valuable asset to every one of us in this room and that’s our children… When we are teaching these kids, we are teaching the most important person in somebody’s life and we have to provide a safe and secure environment for that learning to take place,” Shook passionately expressed.

The discussed benefit of having an SRO on school grounds would be to create a safe and protected environment for children to learn in. Chief Shook said he sees it important for BC to take action before any threat or incident can occur, in other words he recommends being proactive.

“I thank the good Lord Himself that I’m not here talking to you because we lost one of our kids. The unfortunate thing is that I’m here talking to you because somebody has lost their kids… because of violence that took place in schools,” Shook said.

Shook presented a law enforcement prospective on the importance and need of having a SRO on the premises. He explained that an SRO would not just be an armed security guard, but rather would be involved with the students by teaching them safety procedures and could even be involved in the curriculum of classes should teachers be interested.

During the discussion, Shook wanted to clear up any confusion and possible rumors that he had heard around the community. One of the rumors Shook addressed was that the New Washington PD is trying to challenge the presence of school board member, Deputy Chris Martin and his presence in the school.

Shook said that rumor couldn’t be further from the truth saying how much respect he and his colleagues have for Martin and they would never want to compete with what Martin does for BC.

The question was asked to whom the SRO would be employed through, the school or New Washington PD. Shook explained that it would be through the New Washington PD (NWPD), but the Board would have a large handle on the selection process. It was also stated that if an SRO was chosen but things just didn’t work out at the school, the agreement could be canceled at any time.  According to Shook, the predicted cost the SRO would have for the NWPD would between $50,000-$60,000.

The Board still had many questions and hesitations and would like to explore all options before making a decision. The Board agreed to continue to have Superintendent Mark Robinson speak further with Shook and report back with any details found.

Board member Beth Diesch requested that other options be explored, she expressed her thinking that a SRO may not be what BC needs. Diesch emphasized that she feels what the school really needs is more mental health awareness and programs to help those struggling.

“We need incidence assistance, but what we really need is mental health education and mental health interventions to solve these issues,” Diesch stated.

She questioned Shook regarding the kind of resources an SRO would have to intervene with mental health issues, before matters could escalate to potentially dangerous situations.

Shook assured Diesch that an SRO would be trained and equipped to speak with students on the matters of mental health and would be able to work directly with those struggling.

The Board agreed that further discussion and research must be done in order to best decide what BC needs to properly prevent dangerous situations and protect the lives of students and staff.

In other Board news, an update was given by Robinson regarding the stadium bleachers and the scoreboard projects. The concrete foundation has been laid and Robinson reported that both the bleachers and the scoreboards are set to be delivered and installed in mid to late July.

It was also discussed that candidates for the open guidance secretary/EMIS position are in the process of being interviewed.

A financial report was given by treasurer Nancy Ackerman, explaining that everything is being wrapped up from the previous school year. Ackerman reported that the school is financially on target for where they wanted to be at this time.

Due to feeling financially comfortable, the Board was able to eliminate the student fees and class dues for the 2018-2019 school year. School lunch and breakfast prices were also approved for the 2018-2019 school year, keeping the same prices as last year.

The next regular meeting has been moved from Thursday, August 9 to Wednesday, August 15. The meeting will be at 7 p.m., with a special meeting beginning at 6 p.m. to tour the school.