Cutting other expenses or going without are the choices officials face, superintendent says
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The second time was not a charm for the Waterford Union High School District.
This spring, voters in Waterford, Rochester, Norway and slivers over other nearby townships within the high school’s boundaries voted down on a proposal to exceed state revenue caps by $95,000 annually on a recurring basis to fund a school resource officer.
According to preliminary results made public April 13, a total of 3,181 “no” votes were cast, while 3,159 “yes” votes were tallied. Waterford Union officials certified the results with a canvassing April 16, after press deadline.
In an email interview with the Waterford Post, District Administrator Luke Francois said voters had their say on the matter, which will help in determining next steps.
“The results of the election did not support exceeding the revenue cap,” Francois said.
While the district will not have the ability to bring an additional $95,000 line item onto the existing expense ledger, Francois said discussions about staffing a school resource officer are not off the table — at least not yet.
“Without new revenue, I am faced with recommending to the board either a reduction in expenditures (budget cut) to fund the school resource officer underneath the existing revenue cap or not placing a school resource officer at the high school,” Francois wrote when asked for comment.
As is commonplace each spring, high school officials are in the preliminary stages of discussing the next fiscal year’s budget, meaning a deeper dive into whether a resource officer will be brought into the fold for the 2020-21 school should take place at upcoming board meetings.
WUHS at one time had on staff a school resource officer through a shared arrangement with some of the municipalities within the district’s footprint. The position ultimately was cut, however, as officials cited fiscal restraints.
In recent years, as school safety has become a growing concern across the U.S., talks of bringing a resource officer back into the fold gained momentum.
Elected officials in the Village and Town of Waterford each showed their support late last year for a school resource officer by passing resolutions. The municipal maneuvers, in part, prompted high school officials to adopt their own resolution to bring the referendum question to this spring’s ballot.
This was the second consecutive year Waterford Union High School asked voters for the authority to exceed the state revenue cap.
Last April, WUHS successfully gained the authority, by a razor-thin margin, to borrow up to $9.95 million for a series of facilities-related improvements.
Preliminary results in the 2019 spring referendum showed one more “yes” vote than the “no” votes cast, but a canvassing of results added several more “yes” votes into the tally.
Ultimately, 2,313 voters were recorded as favoring the facilities referendum last year, while 2,308 voters were against it.
Some of the work linked to last year’s facilities referendum has been underway this school year.
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