Latest news with #PlainfieldHighSchool
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plainfield's second budget vote results: What happened?
Even with a total reduction of $800,000, all three questions on the ballot for the Town of Plainfield's budget vote failed to pass again at the referendum vote June 2. This is the second time all three questions failed to pass at the ballot box. The majority of voters opposed all three questions at the referendum May 19. At the budget vote June 2, the proposed $14,320,593 operating budget failed, with 563 yes votes and 717 no votes. The revised operating budget was $320,000 less than the proposed budget for the May 19 referendum, which was $14,640,593. The proposed education budget was $39,327,822, a reduction of $480,00 from the May 19 budget failed June 2, with 625 yes votes and 654 no votes. The proposed education budget at the referendum was down from the $39,807,822 that was proposed for education at the budget vote May 19. The town's Capital Improvement Plan for the next and ensuing five years also failed June 2, with 562 yes votes and 701 no votes. 'I think it's probably still a little too high,' Don Kivela, of Plainfield, said regarding the town's budget. In addition to the questions on the proposed operating and education budgets as well as the Capital Improvement Plan, there was a non-binding advisory question on the ballot for the June 2 election. The question asked voters if they were in favor of having a proposed municipal solid waste to energy plant in Plainfield. The vast majority were opposed to the project, as 125 voted yes and 1,148 voted no. The public hearing on the revised budget will take place June 9 in the auditorium at Plainfield High School. The next budget referendum will be held June 16. The town is working out a polling place, as work to replace the entrance ramp at Plainfield Town Hall begins June 3. Polls will be open from 6 a.m.-8 p.m. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Plainfield's second round of budgets fail at the ballot box
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plainfield seeks to restore school resource officer to district
Plainfield — More than a decade after the town lost its school resource officer to budget cuts, district leaders and the police department hope to restore the program this fall. Superintendent Paul Brenton presented a $40.2 million budget proposal to the Board of Education this week, including a $92,000 request for an SRO. Brenton said the SRO program is about more than maintaining safety, it's about building community. 'The school resource officer does much more than patrol the buildings, they help out with enhanced safety, they serve as a positive role model and peer for the students, they help us manage crisis,' Brenton said. 'When I talk to parents at PTO meetings, they remember the names of the SROs in Plainfield that they had,' Brenton later added. 'They speak with love about their school resource officer and the interactions they had, and that's the connection we're looking for.' The officer would serve all the town's schools but would spend most of the day at Plainfield High School. Brenton said the officer would also help lead initiatives such as the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, known as DARE. Police Chief Mario Arriaga said that budget cuts brought an end to Plainfield's previous SRO program during the 2009-10 school year. 'This is long overdue,' Arriaga said during a presentation to the school board. 'We need to create that connection with our students and let our cops also be educators to help teach our children for the future.' Arriaga said the program could also serve as a valuable recruitment tool. 'One of the biggest things now that we're having problems with in law enforcement is recruiting. We all sit there and say, 'How are we going to get more cops and how are we going get more good cops?' Well, what a better way than to have a cop in our schools and actually talk to our kids about law enforcement and getting into this field,' Arriaga said. If the town approves the district's SRO request, the new position would expand Plainfield's police force from 21 officers to 22. Arriaga said the SRO position would likely be filled by one of the town's current officers. 'If this program fails, it's because the wrong officer was in that school system,' Arriaga said. 'It's going to be a vetted process to make sure that person's going to be the right person.' During the meeting, parents responded positively to the proposal. One mother underscored the value of changing the way students see officers in their schools. 'Our kids see police presence constantly connected with bad, a threat, a fight. And my own daughter said one day, 'Why can't you see them more when it's not a threat or something bad?'' Kelly Rodriguez said. 'I think the resource officer as a constant can't be a bad thing. It can only reassure them.' Jessica Cooper, a fifth-grade teacher at Plainfield Memorial School, raised concerns about the role an SRO would play in school discipline. 'There's some evidence to suggest that school resource officers increase the number of arrests and the number of exclusionary discipline practices such as suspension,' Cooper said. 'Whereas a kid might normally get a detention, are they going to end up getting something more severe because of the police presence? Cooper asked whether the district and department were developing a plan to prevent any adverse impact on students. Brenton explained that state law requires districts with SROs to annually report student arrests, discipline and interactions. Brenton and Arriaga also stressed that the SRO would not take a disciplinary approach to the role. 'One thing that we have to try to get away from is thinking that officer is in that school system for disciplinary reasons, that's the teachers' and the administrators' job,' Arriaga said. 'We're there to make that connection with the kids and to ensure the safety of everybody that's there. The training is second to none now.' Brenton's $40.2 million budget proposal for 2025-26 represents a 5.27% increase from the current budget of roughly $38.2 million. Brenton said 81% of the $2 million increase is made up of contractual obligations that have led to higher costs for salaries, benefits, special education and pension contributions. Beyond the SRO position, Brenton's proposal also seeks $46,486 to implement an elementary school math program, $86,367 to extend the hours of school security personnel, and other staffing adjustments, including the creation of a full-time district athletic director to replace the current stipend position.
