Mathews hires deputy as second SRO

Board makes deal with sheriff’s office through end of school year

VIENNA -- The Mathews Board of Education at a special meeting Friday voted 4 to 1 to enter into an agreement with the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office that will put a deputy in Mathews High School as a school resource officer.

Deputy Steven Smith, who has been at the school for the past week, was hired effective March 4 through June 30, 2019 -- the end of the fiscal year -- as a second resource officer. The school will pay $18,776.45 to have Smith in the building for 55 academic days.

Four part-time Vienna police officers have been acting as resource officers for the district's three schools on a rotating basis since the former officer, Michael Sheehy, was indicted on eight charges, including theft in office and drug possession. According to Mathews Board of Education President Tarin Brown, the contract with Vienna police will remain in effect through June 30, and officers will continue to be a presence at the schools.

Michele Garman, the board member who voted against entering into an agreement with the sheriff's office, said the move damages the school's relationship with Vienna Township and is not cost effective.

"Sadly, we are going to lose the bonds that have already been made between our students and the Vienna police officers," Garman said. She also said she believed "the majority of information this decision is being based on is misinformation," and claimed "personal agendas" pushed the motion through.

Garman calculated the cost of having a sheriff's deputy at the school at $341.29 per day.

She said the cost of keeping a contract with both the sheriff's office and Vienna police would be approximately $25,600 to $29,500 by the end of the year, with Vienna making up only $6,800 to $10,000.

"We have chosen the Trumbull County Sheriff's Department at an extra cost for no other reason I can see except that some comments made have bruised some people's egos," Garman said.

"You get what you pay for," said board member Dr. Tom Gifford. "It's obvious what we paid for, yeah, we got." Gifford said Vienna police had displayed a "pattern of corrupt behavior," and the department had more than its fair share of controversy.

Gifford also pointed out the Mathews Local School District does not just encompass Vienna, but also includes Fowler and parts of Cortland.

"It only makes sense you'd have the sheriff's office, which has legal jurisdiction over all three areas," Gifford said.

Vienna Trustee Heidi Brown said she was disappointed in the board's decision.

"The school board has a pattern of spending money unnecessarily," she said.

She added that given the level of attention that has come to the issue, she wished the board had allowed for public comment, but Garman outlined the trustees' feelings well when she spoke about maintaining relationships with the township.

According to Tarin Brown, the school district can afford to pay the sheriff's office higher fees. "We don't set those costs," he said. "Those come from the two individual departments."

Tarin Brown said he believed the agreement with the sheriff's office was cost-effective because multiple officers and a liaison have been at the building over the past week, checking in with Smith. According to Brown, the school did not have to pay to have Smith at the school for that week, and his presence didn't require board approval because the superintendent has the power to bring in extra security.

"To me, regardless of any issues surrounding this, our No. 1 priority is safety for the students," said Superintendent Russell T. McQuaide. "At this time we probably have the most protected students in Trumbull County. And personally, I'm thrilled with that."