Gloucester Township Seeks Outstanding $300,000 From Schools Over Resource Officers

Gloucester Township Council approved a resolution for a shared services agreement with the Gloucester Township School District for special resource officer Monday night, after Councilman Dan Hutchison was assured the Township wouldn’t be violating any local funding laws by doing so.

Hutchison’s question arose from the fact that the school district has not yet paid $300,000 related to last year’s agreement, and another payment of $150,000 is due from the district by Dec. 31.

Payments are made in installments of $150,000 for each half of the school year.

The school district said it has the money to pay the fee, but it also has outstanding questions related to the agreement.

“I’m concerned whether we can continue to provide this service without payment,” said Hutchison, citing the danger of signing an agreement when the township has reason to believe the district won’t honor its financial commitment.

Township Solicitor David Carlemore assured council it wouldn’t be violating any laws by passing Monday night’s resolution because the school district must also pass a resolution for the agreement to take effect.

The School Board didn’t approve last year’s agreement, but the Township has been providing the service for a year, Township officials said Monday night.

Carlemore said that by accepting the services, the school district has ratified its side of last year’s agreement.

Business Administrator Tom Cardis said he hasn’t received a response from the schools when he’s asked about the payment.

On Tuesday morning, Superintendent of Schools John Bilodeau said the agreement wasn’t approved because board members had questions when it was originally presented to the district last year.

“These questions remain outstanding,” Bilodeau said Tuesday morning.

He added the school district has the funding to satisfy the $300,000 owed to the Township.

He had no further comment Tuesday morning.

The Board of Education will discuss the issue at its next scheduled meeting on Dec. 8, Bilodeau said.

Resource officers are Gloucester Township Police Officers stationed in the district’s schools for security purposes. The officers are solely designated to provide security in the schools.

The district has always had two officers who rotate throughout the district’s 11 schools, according to Bilodeau.