Dist. 54 keeps cop in Schaumburg schools

Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 officials Thursday opted to maintain an agreement reached with Schaumburg police two years ago to maintain a school resource officer in their Schaumburg schools and pay 75 percent of his salary for the year ahead.

Until 2009, District 54 had paid only half the cost of its school resource officer but increased its share after Schaumburg police argued they couldn’t maintain an officer at that rate when the department used him or her for other duties only three months of the year.

In fact, until 2008, Schaumburg police had provided one officer each to the three junior highs at the 50-50 split, but then began using only one to rotate among the schools.

At the time, Schaumburg police argued that Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 had always paid 75 percent of the cost of the school resource officer at Schaumburg High School.

But since the change, District 54 and the village of Schaumburg have renewed their contract on a year-by-year basis in an effort to keep a close eye on finances, the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Support Debbie Ancona said.

During the next school year, Schaumburg Police Officer John Zwirowski will continue in his current role as both school resource officer for Addams, Frost and Keller junior highs and as Officer Friendly at Aldrin, Blackwell, Campanelli, Churchill, Collins, Dooley, Enders-Salk, Hale and Hoover elementary schools.

The total cost of the program is $140,890, of which District 54 will pay $105,668 and the rest will be paid by the village of Schaumburg.

The only other village in which District 54 hires and uses a school resource officer is Hoffman Estates, under an identical arrangement, Ancona said.

The district’s Mead Junior High is in Elk Grove Village, which uses no school resource officer.

District 54 has a total of 27 schools, of which only five are junior highs. Three of its elementary schools are in Hanover Park and one is in Roselle.