BY STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—At its regular meeting on Monday night, the Brandon selectboard approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union (RNESU) and the Brandon Police Department (BPD) that establishes a School Resource Officer Program for the district’s schools. BPD is now authorized to recruit a School Resource Officer (SRO) who will serve all of RNESU’s schools but be based primarily at Otter Valley.
BPD Chief David Kachajian was on hand to make the case for the program, stating that BPD receives many calls for service from Otter Valley and that the lack of an SRO at the school is “detrimental.” The SRO will be a Brandon Police Officer but will be funded 100% by RNESU, rather than by the town. RNESU will also pay for a used police vehicle for the SRO.
Selectboard member Tim Guiles expressed serious reservations about the program, questioning whether an SRO would in fact make OV any safer. According to his own research on the matter, he said, SROs do not seem to reduce the likelihood or severity of school shootings. Mr. Guiles also stated his belief that school discipline should be handled by school officials and not by law enforcement.
“I’m not opposed to policing,” said Guiles. “I just want to know what is the right amount of policing.”
Chief Kachajian assured the board that the SRO would not be at OV primarily to discipline students but rather to deal with instances of serious criminal activity.
“In my 30 years on the job,” said Kachajian, “I’ve never seen so much crime come out of a single school as I’ve seen come out of Otter Valley.”
Chief Kachajian also portrayed the SRO as something of a “counselor” to students. In his experience, SROs often become part of the school community and assist students with many aspects of their lives. The SRO would not wear a traditional police uniform but rather a polo and khakis, with the goal of making the officer appear less intimidating and more accessible to students.
Selectboard Vice-Chair Tracy Wyman recounted that the SROs who were in place while his own children were at OV also coached lacrosse and helped students obtain college scholarships.
Chief Kachajian assured the board that all the teachers and students he spoke with at OV were in favor of hiring an SRO. Middlebury, Rutland, and Fair Haven all have SROs, he said.
Marielle Blais, a retired teacher who once worked at OV, stated that an SRO would’ve made her feel safer when fights broke out among students.
Cecil Reniche-Smith asked whether RNESU would need to slash other programs in its budget to pay for the SRO. Chief Kachajian replied that the district had money specifically set aside for the SRO.
“I strongly support this,” said Selectboard member Brian Coolidge. “It’s a win-win for us, since the school is paying for it.”
The SRO would begin on a one-year contract, but Chief Kachajian was confident that RNESU would renew the contract or even extend the term to three years. The SRO would also undergo training specific to the assignment.
The motion to approve the MOU was passed 4-1, with Mr. Guiles the lone nay.
The MOU between RNESU and BPD is available to the public on the Town of Brandon’s website, in the packet for the February 27, 2023 meeting.
Other business:
- Starting in March, selectboard meetings will be held in the lobby in front of the meeting room rather than in the meeting room itself. The Brandon Library will be using the meeting room as its lending center during the library’s upcoming renovation. If the lobby proves insufficient, selectboard meetings will be held in the auditorium upstairs.
- The 2023 Brandon Town Report has been mailed to residents. Board Chair Seth Hopkins thanked Sue Gage and Tim Guiles for all the work they put into making sure the Report was executed well.
- The board unanimously passed a motion to change the fee policy regarding Development Review Board (DBR) meetings. The previous policy charged a fee for each hearing, regardless of whether multiple hearings were needed for a single property/project. The new policy charges a single fee per property, covering all the hearings on the project. Interim Town Manager Bill Moore stipulated, however, that other fees, such as recording fees, may apply per hearing.
- The board unanimously passed a motion to accept the assessor’s certification of the Grand List.
- The board unanimously passed a motion to appoint Karen Rhodes as Moderator for Town Meeting on Monday, March 6, 2023.
- The board unanimously passed a motion to appoint Bill Moore as alternate representative to the Clean Water Revolving Fund to replace David Atherton.
- The board unanimously passed a motion to appoint Tracy Wyman to the Rutland Regional Transportation Council to replace David Atherton. Bill Moore was appointed alternate.
- The board unanimously passed a motion to use $10,000 of Brandon’s 1% local option tax monies to cover expenses relating to East Engineering’s proposal for the repair of the culvert on McConnell Road. The proposal will allow the town to apply for a grant of up to $225K from VTrans for the project, which is expected to cost close to that amount.
- The board unanimously passed a proposal from Town Treasurer Sue Gage to update 3 policies regarding accounting, audits, and financial reports; cash receipts, petty cash, and returned checks; and investments.
- The board unanimously approved a warrant to pay $1,252,193.43.
The selectboard moved to adjourn and the Board of Liquor Control Commissioners convened. The Liquor Board moved to adopt a consent agenda. No agenda items were discussed.
Town Clerk Sue Gage asked that any business needing to apply for or renew its liquor or tobacco license submit its application ASAP, as the software used by the state has been changed and is extremely confusing. The concern was that a business that waits until the last minute will find the new software too complex to complete by the deadline.
