MARLBORO – The Marlboro K-8 School District Board of Education has approved a contract with the township to place an armed police officer in each district school during school hours beginning in September.
According to the agreement, one officer will be assigned to each school during the 2018-19 school year. The Marlboro K-8 district has eight schools. The agreement will begin Sept. 5 and be in effect until June 30, 2019, and an annual renewal is expected.
Officials said the school district’s annual share in the agreement is $275,000.
The township’s business administrator, Jonathan Capp, said the municipality’s share is estimated to be $345,000 for 2018-19 and between $310,000 and $340,000 per year in the second through fifth years.
According to the agreement, the Marlboro Police Department will have the power to hire, discharge, assign and discipline the officers. The school board reserves the right to request an alternate officer should an assigned officer’s performance be contrary to police policies.
The officers who are assigned to the schools will be Class III special law enforcement officers or sworn police officers employed by the township. Class III officers are recently retired law enforcement personnel who will be under the command of the police department and may carry a firearm while on duty.
In other business, the school board renewed its contract with the township for the provision of two school resource officers (SRO). One SRO will rotate among the elementary schools and the second SRO will split time between the two middle schools. The district pays the township $45,000 as part of the agreement.
Each SRO will work a maximum of 40 hours per week. Specific duty hours for an SRO will be set by mutual agreement between the school district – at the direction of the principal of the school to which the officer is assigned – and the police chief.
