Townsend Schools Welcomes New Resource Officer
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Townsend Schools Welcomes New Resource Officer
MT 43 News Staff Reporter
Sargeant Tony Cordova will act as the new School Resource Officer. Cordova was cleared by Broadwater County Commissioners and the Sheriff’s office to fill the position through a memorandum of agreement. Cordova’s office will be in the Junior High building and will serve as a high-profile safety connection to students in both elementary and high schools.
Cordova was presented at the January 9 School Board meeting. Board president Jason Noyes indicated a need for a detailed job description of the position so teachers, administration and Cordova know what is expected of him.
The position will be paid for as regular deputy wages through the sheriff’s office. The school will fund training and provide an office.
Cordova, who has served in the Broadwater County Sheriff’s Department since 2013 expressed his interest in the position because he has law enforcement connections who are also school resource personnel. Cordova will serve in the position until June when school is out for the summer. He will then return to duties in the Sheriff’s department.
A Townsend native, Cordova graduated from Broadwater High School in 2012.
The board tackled the question of whether to keep offering retirement incentives for teachers eligible for retirement. Several teachers will qualify for retirement according to Superintendent Susie Hedalen. The board moved to give two $15,000 retirement incentive payments for the year 2024.
Lump sum incentives are offered to teachers who are at their highest pay level. New teachers are hired at lower pay levels so through employee wage savings, monies eventually build up to offer incentives for the next group of retiring teachers. Hedalen pointed out that rebuilding the fund takes a long time, so giving incentives every year becomes very expensive for the board. “ As a strategic tool, we need to think about whether we can offer incentives next year or if we do, at what level,” Chairman Noyes pointed out.
The board voted to reimburse Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) for the $32,903 grant the school received to pay for playground equipment. The grant which was administered by FWP, came through the National Park Service. The grant included a restriction that the land on which the playground was built, would be a playground in perpetuity. The new elementary school was then built on the playground which voided the agreement between FWP and Townsend Schools, so the board was required to pay back the grant.
The school roof replacement project has been completed. The cost of $472,630 will be reimbursed by the school’s insurance company.
The board voted to approve a $55,000 purchase of a 57-passenger bus with handicapped access from Bulldog Bus Lines, owned by Jeremy Rice. The 2004 model bus has been reconditioned.
In her report, Superintendent Hedalen said the activities committee continues to work on setting up a high school baseball program. She also reported that the school radio survey had 44 responses. Fifty-three percent of the respondents listen to the radio; 46 percent listen online. She explained the students in Joe Horne’s media arts class were helping to run the station now, and several Townsend businesses had contributed to keeping the station operating. Sports games are broadcast every year on the station. American Recovery Act (ARA) funds have been used to keep the station running. Hedalen encouraged the public to complete the radio listening survey in person at the Library or on the Townsend Schools website.
