SILVER CREEK - The school resource officer agreement is a hot topic in Silver Creek.
At the recent Silver Creek Board of Education meeting Superinten-dent Daniel Ljiljanich gave an update on the status of the agreement.
He explained the district sent a letter to the Seneca Nation last spring asking for help supporting the SRO program. In that letter he said the district estimated a cost of $20,000 for one and a half days and asked the Nation to fund the other three and a half for an estimated $59,000.
However, Ljiljanich said after researching the cost to the district last year for one and a half days of coverage and looking at the proposed contract, he said the district will only need $12,000 for the one and a half days.
"Last year the program cost us just over $11,000 ... the contract has the officer paid about $29 per hour at 10 hours per week and 40 weeks in the school year, that comes out to about $12,000," he explained.
He said the district budgeted $3,000 for the program in last May's budget, so the district just needs to find $9,000. He said he believes he can find the money in the budget codes because of a savings in the new 2-year contract. He said he will make the recommendation for the transfer at the next board of education meeting on Sept. 26.
Ljiljanich said he heard the Nation voted to support the program but had not heard in what way - monetarily or by offering a Marshal for the remaining days.
He also reported meeting with village of Silver Creek Mayor Kurt Lindstrom, Vil-lage Trustee Nick Piccolo and Forestville Superinten-dent John O'Connor. He said Forestville had budgeted for a day and a half with the SRO, but the village had not set aside money in its budget for the program. He said because of this the town of Hanover will be organizing a meeting with the schools and the villages to see what can be done.
He said the school's options are open, whether to have a full-time SRO or a part-time one like last year and said SRO is beneficial for the school.
"They provide education and really benefit the community," he added.
