Last Tuesday, February 27, the Prince-ton Regional Board of Education approved Regulation 9320, "Cooperation with Law Enforcement Agencies," a document that attempts to clarify the role of school staff in circumstances involving the law enforcement officials on school property.
The regulation offers guidelines to school principals and administrators in the case of cooperation with local police departments. It was drafted following the board's dissatisfaction with the state-mandated Memorandum of Agreement. In January the board acknowledged, rather than approved, the Memorandum from the Office of the Attorney General.
While Regulation 9320 was approved, however, the document is not the final word on the matter of the State Memorandum of Agreement.
According to Superintendent of Schools Judith A. Wilson, the board will continue to work for changes to be made to the state-mandated Memorandum, which the board has struggled with since last September following an incident at Princeton High School in which four youths were taken from the school for questioning. She said that the board would draft amendments to the statewide memorandum for submission to the Office of the Attorney General.
Since the district is required to abide by the state agreement, the board's guidelines are necessarily internal. They suggest that an officer should have some sort of a document, a warrant, a docketed petition, or a judicial order, and outline responses to requests from the police for juvenile school records, police responses to incidents occurring on campus, and law enforcement responses at school to incidents that occur off school property and outside school hours.
As at previous board meetings, board member Walter Bliss, who chairs the Minority Education Committee, argued against the regulation, saying that to vote for it while describing the Memo that it is meant to amend as unacceptable was tantamount to saying "go" with one hand while saying "stop" with the other. He said he would like to see the board follow through on amending the statewide agreement.
Board Vice-President Alan Hegedus, however, did not see any conflict in adopting the regulation while pursuing a process of change with the state.
Mr. Hegedus, who chaired the subcommittee that drafted the regulation, said that the board would be derelict in its duty not to have some guidelines in place for school administrators and that the 14-page regulation was a carefully thought out police-approved agreement which did not preclude pursuing further change to the state Memo. He suggested that voting against it was a case of "sacrificing the good in pursuit of the perfect."
While board member Josh Leinsdorf felt that it would be better to do nothing than to approve the regulation, Board President Michael Mostoller argued that doing nothing was not an option. "Life is not without contradictions," he said, "but it is preferable to have some protocol than none at all."
After further debate over details of the regulation, and three specific recommendations for revision, the board voted. Mr. Mostoller, Mr. Hegedus and board members Jeffrey Spear, Charlotte Bialek, and Mia Cahill voted to adopt the regulation; Mr. Bliss, Mr. Leinsdorf, and JoAnn Cunningham voted against.
Take a Seat
Presenting a check for $60,000 to the board, Anne Burns, president of the Princeton Education Foundation (PEF), said that the funding was for acoustic enhancements for the new Princeton Performing Arts Center, "for the finishing touches that would transform the high school auditorium into a truly professional performing arts center."
Last June, a check for $190,000 from PEF's "Take a Seat" campaign was earmarked for the center's choral shell and stage extender.
Ms. Burns announced that the "Take a Seat" campaign will continue until all the seats are sold. Naming opportunities for seats and dedicated spaces remain, she said.
In addition, the foundation has begun a campaign to raise $100,000 for equipment for the high school's Fitness Center. "We are working to attract alumni giving and to broaden our financial support in the corporate arena," said Ms. Burns. "So far, we've relied heavily on our community, and especially our parents to accomplish our goals," she went on, adding that the foundation welcomes volunteers for tasks large and small.
Wizard of Oz
The next production set for the Princeton Performing Arts Center is the high school musical "Wizard of Oz," with performances on Wednesday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, March 23, 24, at 8 p.m.
Last Night's Budget Workshop
The board met again last night (after Town Topics press time) Tuesday, March 6, for a special Budget Workshop.
Last year's $72 million budget included a tax hike for Borough and Township residents.
Among the items up for discussion in this year's schools budget are the new Princeton Performing Arts Center (PPAC); security; new furniture for renovated class rooms at the high school; learning materials; classroom instructional technology; fees for pre-school programs; data collection for student achievement; and the costs of cleaning additional spaces at the high school.
A second budget meeting has been scheduled for Monday, March 12, at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the John Witherspoon Middle School. The public is encouraged to attend and action will be taken on approving the budget for submission to Mercer County.
Once reviewed and approved by the County, the budget will be the subject of a public hearing on Tuesday, March 27, at 8 p.m. The budget vote and board elections will take place on Tuesday, April 17.