FROM THE NEWSROOM: The Plainfield Board of Education has authorized Superintendent Ken DiPietro to hire up to two school safety officers for the district, the exact number of which will be determined once the Board has a “better handle” on the state of the budget in January. Earlier on, school officials considered hiring a police officer, but since the process to become fully certified takes around 18 months, a more immediate solution was looked into. The top applicants have been reviewed by the Plainfield Police Department heads, and are now being sent to Dipietro and other education officials for the final word. It is hoped that the results will be announced sometime in January. The officers, who will come from a pool of over 40 applicants with previous service in criminal justice, will have part time hours at an hourly rate of $19-$20 over a period of 40 weeks a year. Should both positions be filled, the shifts would be staggered between the day, to offer full coverage from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., which would even give some coverage for after school programs. However, Dipietro says that the most important times to have security are at the beginning and end of the day. These officers will not be armed, and the superintendent stresses that this action does not replace the districts relationship with the police department. Tune in for the full report.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 10:58:09 +0000