the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the feud between the Village Council and the Ridgewood school board has spilled into school safety and the hiring the a School Resource Officer . The current clash is over who should pay for a new school resource officer.
The Ridgewood had previously reported : https://theridgewoodblog.net/ridgewood-board-of-ed-claims-they-never-agreed-that-the-school-district-would-contribute-to-this-position-of-school-resource-officer/
Village Council members claim the Board of Education has reneged on good faith negotiations to co-fund the salary of the officer , in retaliation for the Village Council backing the school budget vote.
Village and school officials had been discussing a replacement school resource officer for close to two years. The position was eliminated in 2010 for financial reasons. In 2014, the council passed an ordinance allowing for the re-creation of the position, with responsibilitiesjointly determined by the police chief, village manager and superintendent of schools.
The Ridgewood school district currently employs a full-time, armed school security officer, who is also a retired police officer. An SRO is an active-duty police officer.
According to the BOE the previous school resource officer was paid for by the village, but with over $110,000,000 school budget Ridgewood taxpayers are very surprised by the BOE’s reluctance to ensure school safety.
Old story James. Mayor and council have taken the high road and they are going to pay.