A Rindge resident brought his concerns about student safety to the Jaffrey-Rindge school board meeting on Monday.
Dennis Casey requested that the board look into the possibility of bringing back a school resource officer to be used at the middle/high school campus. Casey said it made sense to have police officers from Jaffrey and Rindge serve alternating three-year terms within the school as a way for the towns to share the cost.
“It’s a good place to start, in light of recent events,” said Casey.
Casey also said the district and board should look to “hardening up the schools,” looking at additional security measures that could be taken to ensure student safety.
“It’s pretty wide open when you get past the first set of doors,” said Casey, of the high school front entrance.
Board chair Laurel McKenzie said the board and district is currently looking into safety improvements that could be made at each school, adding that the middle and high school underwent a safety audit in the fall, with one taking place at the elementary schools in the spring.
A school security committee has been formed to look at the report and the district has applied for a grant and set aside money for implementing security measures.
Casey also recommended reviving the apportionment committee or creating a new ad hoc committee made up of former select board and school board members from both towns.
“I think we can all agree this isn’t going away,” said Casey.
Conant High School Principal Larry Pimental proposed purchasing a scoreboard for Conant’s outdoor sports facility.
Pimental proposed taking $18,624 from the Durant Fund – a fund that can be used for high school-related purchases – to fund the scoreboard, which would be built 12-feet by five-feet by eight-inches.
Board member Jeff Clark-Kevan said he wanted to look into seeing if the district could also use money from the Arthur Daniels Fund, which can be used for athletics purchases. Clark-Kevan brought up the other fund, saying he would like to keep more money in the Durant Fund in case sidewalk, signage, or other projects come up at the high school.
Clark-Kevan also said Pimental should reach out to the proposed installer Nevco, to see if there would be any additional cost to ensure the bottom of the sign is at least ten years off the ground so vandalizing the sign is harder to do.
Superintendent Reuben Duncan proposed a change to the school board’s meeting schedule, but no decisions were made.
Under Duncan’s proposal, the school board would meet as a full board once a month – compared to twice a month, as it currently is – to offer scheduled meeting times on Monday for the district’s subcommittees.
Duncan’s proposal would also create two new subcommittees: education and budget. The education committee would focus on strategic planning, curriculum, and other education related matters, while the budget committee could allow the board to have more oversight on how the budget is developed.
The board elected to think on the proposal and discuss it at a future meeting.
The board also voted to close the extended day revolving fund, which will return the $7,118 in the fund to the taxpayers.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.