U-46 signs liaison officer deals with Streamwood, South Elgin

Agreements for police liaison officers have been approved between Elgin Area School District U-46 and two of four municipal police departments at a reduced rate.

The school board this week signed off on contracts for officers from Streamwood and South Elgin.

The district will pay Streamwood police $57,037 per officer to work 178 days at Canton and Tefft middle schools and Streamwood High School, a total cost of $171,111.

For two officers at South Elgin High School and Kenyon Woods Middle School, U-46 will pay South Elgin police $96,844, or $48,442 per officer.

While a municipality's police department employs each school's police liaison officer, U-46 pays that department a reimbursement rate.

District safety coordinator John Heiderscheidt said U-46 this year negotiated paying those departments' entry level salary for each officer, which will result in about $73,000 - or 27 percent - in savings.

The negotiations are just one of a number of cost-cutting strategies for the district, which, between a rise in home foreclosures and cuts in state aid, has little wiggle room in its 2010 budget.

Earlier this summer, the district revealed that Elgin police would be asking for a 25 -percent increase in their officer reimbursement at the same time other departments agreed to lower their costs. The city of Elgin has gone through a significant downsizing in staff and has done some restructuring at the police department in light of budget shortfalls.

The move would force the district to cut its officer presence at Elgin middle schools.

Instead of having one full-time officer at each middle school campus, Abbott, Ellis, Larson and Kimball middle schools likely will share two officers.

Negotiations are still taking place between U-46 and Elgin police, as well as Bartlett, Heiderscheidt said.

All agreements should be approved by September, Heiderscheidt said.