Fruitland Council, school board opt to continue SRO pact
By Larry Hurrle - Independent-Enterprise
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:05 PM PDT
The Fruitland City Council and the Fruitland School Board came to an agreement Monday during a semi-annual meeting of the two boards to continue to Student Resource Officer program within the Fruitland School District.
In an agreement approved by the city council during in July 27 meeting, the pact would become effective Aug. 22 and run through Aug. 22, 2010. Through the Fruitland Police Department, the city will provide an officer as a Student Resource Officer whose services will be shared selectively with the four schools in the Fruitland School District.
The SRO’s duties will include investigating and preventing crimes against people or property, identify and arresting violators of state and local laws, filing investigative reports and other required reports and documents, patrolling and, to a limited extent, maintain building security, controlling traffic and enforcing traffic laws, excluding parking rules.
The SRO will also be governed by a job description outlines by the Fruitland Police Department specific for the position.
In Monday night’s meeting, Fruitland School Board Chair Kelly Henggeler expressed some concern for the position, noting the downturn in the economy has put a burden on the school district in the way of funding. Currently, the Fruitland School District funds approximately 60 percent of the SRO position, which amounts to approximately $42,000 and includes salary, personal benefits and auto insurance costs.
One small point of contention came when Henggeler noted the Fruitland Police Department did not reassign Officer Henry Baladez to the SRO position.
“The way we were notified needs to be worked on,” Henggeler told the council. “We’re not quite sure why changes were made.”
Henggeler suggested both the school board and city council appoint a couple people each year to sit on a committee to evaluate the SRO position and, if changes need to be made, work closely with the Fruitland Police Department and city council to make changes which have been agreed upon by both entities.
“Right now, the police department has full discretion on that and that’s not a problem,” Henggeler said. “We want to continue moving forward with the program.”
The council did not say a new SRO has been appointed to the position. Council President Ed Pierson told Henggeler the council would submit a couple of names for the proposed committee which the school board could consider before the school year begins Aug. 26.
In other business between the two entities, the Fruitland School Board expressed concern over the increase in water rates by the city and the added cost to the school district.
“We’ve seen a lot of expenses go up since we built the new school (Fruitland Elementary School),” Henggeler said. “Expenses are probably up $100,000 (district-wide). We’re trying to deal with the new water bill, which is about 60 percent more.”
Henggeler said he believed the school district was being charged based on the size of water lines leading into the school. Larger lines had to be installed because of fire suppression requirements.
“We can’t pass those fees on,” Henggeler said. “Any help you can give us in this area would be greatly appreciated.”
Fruitland Mayor Tom Limbaugh assured Henggeler that water rates were not tied to line size, but rather the size of the meter used by the district. Because the new elementary school is using automatic flushing toilet systems, but meter being used was a larger meter and resulted in a higher cost to the district. Limbaugh said the district could downsize the meters, which would have an effect on how the toilets flush.
“A smaller meter can reduce the flow,” Limbaugh said.
Limbaugh also noted that the city is entering a design phase for South Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs in front of Fruitland Elementary and Fruitland Middle schools. He said construction on the major arterial has been completed, a resurfacing flaw in original planning has allowed the city to use stimulus money to redesign the roadway and add safety features and crossings.
The school district also informed the council that it has resurfaced its middle school parking lot which includes four dropoff lanes, instead of two lanes in the past. Henggeler said teachers are being encouraged not to park in the areas closest to the school, which should allow traffic to flow better during the school year.
