Supplemental budget funds return of resource officer to high school

Date: 8/16/2011

Aug. 17, 2011

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Editor

AGAWAM —Students at Agawam High School will start classes on Sept. 6 with their Resource Officer back in place, thanks to an agreement between the School Committee and the Police Department regarding the allocation of funds in the School Department’s $250,000 supplemental budget.

“We sent the supplemental budget to the [City] Council; that budget gave all the money necessary to the schools to do what was necessary,” Mayor Richard Cohen, who is also chair of the School Committee, told Reminder Publications.

The City Council passed the $250,000 supplemental School Department budget by a vote of 7-2 on Aug. 1. City Council Administrative Assistant Barbara Bard confirmed that City Council Vice President Robert Rossi and Councilor John Walsh voted against the budget. Councilors James Cichetti and Joseph Mineo were absent for the vote.

Prior to her departure, former Agawam School Superintendent Dr. Mary Czajkowski had requested that these reinstated positions include a first grade teacher at Clifford M. Granger School, a kindergarten teacher, a paraprofessional and a kindergarten paraprofessional at Robinson Park School and a teacher, a kindergarten teacher and a paraprofessional at Benjamin J. Phelps School. In addition, she requested that one position at the Early Childhood Center and two district-wide paraprofessionals to work with Individual Education Plans be reinstated.

She also requested that two of the secretarial positions be reinstated, one to fill a current vacancy at Granger, the other creating a new position in the before- and after-school programs that would assist the director.

Materials provided by Cohen’s office confirmed that these positions were reinstated at a total cost of $213,983.

“We were able to accomplish all the goals we set out to do,” Cohen said. “Class size is down, paraprofessionals will be utilized were they are needed and the secretaries will remain intact.”

The remaining amount —approximately $36,000 —that was left in the supplemental budget, was transferred to the Police Department’s personnel overtime budget, according to Cohen.

“That will allow [the town] to utilize the police overtime budget to put the resource officer back into the high school,” Cohen said. “I’m glad the schools will start off in September with everybody’s needs being met.”

Debbie Gardner can be reached by e-mail at debbieg@thereminder.com