Wheaton, schools forge new cop liaison deal

An agreement that places police officers at Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools was changed Tuesday to align better with the program’s costs.

“The new agreement more accurately reflects the existing costs of services provided,” City Manager Don Rose said.

One officer is stationed at each high school and is also available at the district’s three middle schools on an as-needed basis, Rose said.

Overall, the two officers’ salaries, benefits and other costs come to roughly $281,500, of which 68 percent will be covered by Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200. The figure reflects the number of days the officers are at the schools compared to their on-duty time for the Wheaton Police Department.

Rose said the new proposal will save the city roughly $22,000 by incorporating several costs that have been added in recent police contracts. Among them is a fee of about $9,400 paid by the city to the county’s communication system, DU-COMM.

The school district approved the agreement last month.