Supervisors Hold First Session Of 2023
Oskaloosa, Iowa – With Monday being the official holiday for New Year, the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday morning, January 3rd, for their first official meeting of the year.
The first item for the Supervisors was the board organization and appointments for 2023.
Mark Groenendyk was again chosen as Chair of the Board, while Steve Wanders serves as Vice-Chair for the Mahaska County Supervisors.
Meetings will remain on the first and third Monday of each month, with exceptions made for holidays. Regular start times remain at 9 am in the 3rd-floor conference room.
The discussion then turned to hire a part-time school resource officer for the North Mahaska School District.
The North Mahaska School District approached the New Sharon City Council about the position, but being able to add staffing for their police department proved to be a problem.
Mahaska County Sheriff Russ VanRenterghem and North Mahaska School Superintendent presented to the board of supervisors the potential of adding a deputy for the position.
It would take approval by not only the board of supervisors but the North Mahaska School District as well and would be a 3-year commitment to the part-time position.
At this point, the average response time for deputies to the school for calls averages just over 12 minutes.
A school resource officer also gains students’ trust and provides an outlet for students to talk about concerns in their lives.
It would also help provide a quicker response in the event of an active shooter.
If an agreement between the board and the school system were to happen, the plan would be to hire a deputy by July 1st, 2023. The first day of school is planned for August 23rd, 2023.
New Sharon Superintendent Angela Livezey said the call for more school resource officers started with an initiative from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
Livezey says she believes that investing in school resource officers is an investment in our future and raising good citizens.
Supervisor Mark Groenendyk asked Sheriff Russ VanRenterghem, “So what would you say the citizens of Oskaloosa are gonna pay for a sheriff’s deputy to be in New Sharon, and they’re also paying for a police officer in Oskaloosa?”
VanRenterghem explained that the school district would be paying for all of the costs of having a deputy at the school.
Currently, the county charges other municipalities $48 per hour for deputies, and the same rate would apply to the school district. As a result, the district would pay over $41,600 a year for the deputy to the county.
The deputy would be 2/5’s school resource officer, the rest of the time being a regular patrol deputy. The total salary for the deputy would be $62,000 in wages, with $9,000 for insurance and a patrol vehicle every five years.
Groenendyk asked if VanRenterghem was asking for a part-time or full-time deputy. In response, VanRenterghem said it would be difficult to find a certified peace officer to fill a part-time position, and he hopes to hire a full-time one.
There is a tentative date of February 27th that the Mahaska County Courthouse will be closed for emergency preparedness training. The date may change, and we’ll let you know of those changes.
