BELLE — The Maries R-2 School Board approved the security officer memorandum of understanding (MOU) Nov. 20 on a contentious vote as one member vocally objected to paying “a year’s salary for 10 months of work.”

The board added the security officer salary to the budget in June to negotiate with the city of Belle for an officer. The original amount approved by the board to proceed with the contract was $21,600 for the officer and $9,401 in reserve.

“That was for reserve,” said R-2 board member Tom Kinsey. “That was for outings or games. We are paying a full salary for somebody for two months and that is not acceptable. That’s tax payer’s money that we are using to pay for the city getting an officer.”

Kinsey said he didn’t want it to look like he doesn’t want an officer in the building, but he is getting tired of spending money where they shouldn’t be. He added he didn’t want to be back where they were six or seven years ago when the district was getting rid of teachers because they were deficit spending.

Superintendent Dr. Patrick Call said they get the officer throughout the school day.

“If you don’t like the agreement, then vote it down and we will have to talk to the city about how much we owe them,” Call said.

Kinsey countered that the district is already paying (the police) for what they have done without a contract in place.

“Because we have gotten services,” Call said, “If you don’t want to pay for services —.”

“I make a motion the school board stop services to the city for a security officer — temporarily — until we get a better understanding on how this is to be done. So November will be the last month. That’s a motion,” Kinsey said.

Mayor Josh Seaver and Marshal Joe Turnbough were present at the meeting.

“May I comment on that before you guys make that motion,” Turnbough asked.

Board President Joey Butler II said he needed a second on the motion.

“Actually, unless someone has a question directly about it, you would have had to spoke during the comments from visitor about it,” Butler said.

Turnbough said if anyone needs to speak with him, he was available. 

Kinsey’s motion died due to lack of a second. Butler asked if anyone had anything to say.

“It’s simple,” Kinsey said. “We had a $30,000 number and no one liked it being divided up into 12 months, so now we just made it 10 months and still giving them the $30,000. That ain’t right. That’s wrong. We are using tax payer’s money to pay for officers for two months. At least two months that we are not going to be using them. So it is deception, actually, because it was divided between 12 months and now it is divided between 10 months.”

Call said that was his fault. 

“It should have been done under 10 months to begin with, but I was trying to spread it out due to budgetary reasons,” Call said.

Kinsey said they did not agree on the $30,000.

“There was $9,000 in there for ball games and extra duty stuff that we might ask them to be here for,” Kinsey said. “But now it’s in there permanently — it is in there right now.”

Kinsey said that was a back up — not for salary.

“To make this work, I thought that’s what you wanted to happen,” Call said. “I am sorry that I misunderstood the intention of the board.”

Butler said his perception of the reserve money was similar to Call’s.

“I thought when we said whatever the number was for the budget and reserve, if the city requires us, we will use those reserves to go whatever the budget is up to $9,000 more,” Butler said.

Kinsey said for extra duties, ball games and activities.

“At that amount, you are using it all and it is because that is what the city wanted to be able to hire an extra officer,” Kinsey said. “And someone said we are only using them for six hours a day.”

Call said no, the officer checks in at 7:30 a.m. after being in front of the building, and then leaves at a little after 4 each evening.

“He is here all day,” Call said. “Yes, I have him going between buildings.”

Hicks asked Turnbough how much they normally pay a regular officer. Turnbough said $27,384 a year.

Kinsey said he was thinking that was the original total. He asked board secretary Rhonda Witte if she could find the motions.

Butler asked, hypothetically, if their money was just for the officer during the day, would the department have officers at the various ball games.

“Absolutely, we just kicked an officer loose and fully trained a few nights ago,” Turnbough said. “We had an officer in the school last night due to a ball game and would have tonight, except we had court going on.”

Turnbough said he intends to have the night cars come in for evening events.

“It is also my intention, not only that you have one officer, but I have been there as well — like when we locked the middle school down, you had two police officers.”

Board member Kenda Sanders said that was different circumstances, and Kinsey said that is Turnbough’s job.

“No, sir, I have no jurisdiction in Bland,” Turnbough said. “If you have something going down at that school, you will wait until somebody gets there. And you waited quite a long time that day.”

Turnbough said that is not his job or his jurisdiction, but he has worked it out with the Gasconade County sheriff and the marshal of Bland that it was his intention to take over the school and provide protection for it.

“So if we weren’t paying you for up here, you wouldn’t be sending officers up here to ball game?” Kinsey asked.

Turnbough said they would stop in periodically when they could, but the department has been so short staffed, there have not been enough officers.

“Being fully staffed, we are going to be able to start a program next year,” Turnbough said. “We have had a lot of people really excited about that.”

Kinsey asked Turnbough what he thought was the appropriate thing.

“What would you do if you were in my chair and spending money for two months and not getting anything from it,” Kinsey asked.

Turnbough said he understood where Kinsey was coming from and the police department agreed to take the money for the whole 12 months — if they wanted to pay in nine months they could.

“I have to pay the officer’s benefits, we have to use our cars and spend the city’s gas,” Turnbough said. “We are completing our training and our programs. It won’t cost you a thing. And we are going to stop in, in the evening time, even though you are paying for the officer’s salary — because that is just for the days.”

Turnbough said if the officer was not there, he would hopefully be there soon, he had probably been called out on a domestic.

“That $9,000 extra dollars was allocated for over-time or extra duty stuff,” Kinsey said. “Now it’s all in there any way for $30,000 not $27,000. You would pay an officer right now $27,000 and charging the school $30,000 or $31,000.”

Call said no, they are paying $27,000 — they have $30,000 in the budget.

Kinsey said as far as the benefits, they were not planning on paying the officer’s benefits anyway so it is not a negotiable part of the contract.

“That is the reason why we went through you, to have someone who has already got the hours,” Kinsey said. “Not to pay for a complete officer’s salary for the year and not use them.”

Butler said Call has already said it was his “mistake,” but if Call had come to the board originally to put the $27,000 on a 10-month pay scale, it wouldn’t have looked like the school was paying the entire year for an officer they weren’t using.

“The reality is that salary number was going to stay the same,” Butler said. “It may be the same as the salary they were going to get.”

Kinsey said they were never going to pay for the insurance and their reason for going through the city was so that they wouldn’t have to pay for the qualifications or re-qualifications.

“That’s two months the school is paying the city for that officer that they are not using — they are getting a heck of a good benefit,” Kinsey said. “My job as a school board member is not to try to please the city, but to take care of the school district.”

Sanders said it is also to give the kids, parents and staff a sense of security.

“I appreciate the fact you all are willing to do this with us,” Sanders said. “I understand what Tom is saying as well, because I agree we should not be paying for services that we are not getting those two months. I think it is just going to come down to 10 months of the salary or 12 months of the salary.”

Turnbough said he thought the city would say the same about two police officers being at the school, but it is very important to him.

“You have a police officer in this building and at the middle school at the same time,” Turnbough said.

Dawn Hicks, board vice president, asked why two officers were needed in different buildings at the same time.

“Because I am salary,” Turnbough said. “No matter how many hours I work, it’s not going to change. So I took it upon my self to come up here and be a big part of this.”

Turnbough said the school has the one officer all day, and when he can break away, he will be at the school as well, as Call and the principals can tell them.

Kinsey said the city should be paying for the time that the school isn’t using the officer.

“What you are saying, Tom, is you would like a brand new, new-hire to be working in the school for 12 months,” Turnbough asked.

Kinsey said whatever the payment is divided by 12, that number times two — the school doesn’t pay that amount.

Board member Brent Stratman asked if all deputies make $27,000 or if some make more. Turnbough said some make more.

“So if we go hire a brand new cop tomorrow, if their base salary is $27,000, we are going to have to pay $27,000, and I don’t give a crap if it’s 10 months or 12 months,” Stratman said. “It can be someone with more experience like him, or someone else. We are paying a baseline salary. It is what it is. We can get someone with more experience and pay more.”

Turnbough said he was giving the school his most experienced guys. Stratman said even if they were going to hire their own guy, they would pay the same amount.

Butler said numbers the district previously looked at to hire someone and get a car was upward toward $38,000 for the school.

“I think this is fine the way it is,” Stratman said. “I think it’s a miscommunication on 10 or 12 months —,” Stratman said.

“It’s misrepresented,” Kinsey countered.

Stratman disagreed and said a teacher’s salary is broken out into 12 months a year when they work for 10.

Hicks said she didn’t have a problem paying the asking price, but what did Turnbough mean by “try” to have the officers there at the games.

Seaver said the police officers are going to be where the people are.

“When the day officer and myself goes home for the evening, when my night crew comes on, they may have to go on a call,” Turnbough said.

“So they will go on a call and come back,” Hicks confirmed.

Turnbough said yes, but they would be there as much as possible.

Hicks said they would still have $3,600 in reserve.

“The motion states that on the budget we were going to do a step increase and a security officer at $21,600 and $9,401 in secondary reserve,” Sanders read from a previous board meeting minutes.

Board member Garret Bialczyk said they did not specify when they could use the reserve money. It’s there if need.

“We were going to try to get it for $21,600, but if we can’t, we have $9,000 there to use to get the security officer in the school if we need it,” Bialczyk said. “The $21,600 will not get you a security officer here.”

Kinsey asked if everyone was really okay paying the city for two months for an officer they aren’t going to use. Hicks asked Seaver what the officer was going to do in the summer time.

“The only way for the city to put an officer in the schools was to hire an officer,” Seaver said. “It costs $27,000. That’s it, that is what it’s going to cost you. There is no way to get an officer in the school with the three guys we had.”

Sanders said if they called during the summer and said they are having an event, get the officer up there, would it happen. Kinsey said he didn’t understand why the city wouldn’t pay $4,000 for the months that officer is not being used.

“Because we don’t have it,” Seaver said. 

“Because you have a budget just like we have a budget, that’s what I am talking about it,” Kinsey said.

Seaver said yes, because the school wants an officer, and the city can’t give them one on the budget they have.

“In order for us to do that, you have to pay,” Seaver said.

Butler asked Kinsey how they can help him see the situation differently.

Kinsey said everyone is being deceptive. If the school did not hire an officer, the officer would still be at the park during games.

“He’s going to drive through, Tom,” Turnbough said. “The community is extremely excited about this.”

Kinsey said he has no doubt, but as a board member for Maries R-2, paying for something from 12 months to 10 months to make it look like it was a good deal is not right.

“That’s mine, opinion, and we are done talking, Josh. I want the public to know by the minutes and by the paper that I don’t agree with using our tax payer’s money for something we aren’t getting,” Kinsey said.

Sarah McDaniels asked Turnbough from the audience what would happen if the officer was on campus and Turnbough received a call out.

“Will you call him off campus,” McDaniels asked.

“Only if it’s an extreme emergency,” Turnbough said.

McDaniels asked for examples, “A shooting at Casey? A high speed chase? Not a back up when you pull someone over.”

Turnbough said no. McDaniels said she had Turnbough’s word. As a taxpayer to the school district, she expected the officer to be at the school and not out patrolling during school hours.

Turnbough asked what if they had two officers.

“Then who is patrolling the city at that point,” McDaniels asked.

Butler said they could discuss that later. Stratman made a motion to approve the memorandum as is. Bialczyk seconded.

Butler said Kinsey is not wrong to look out for the district financially. Kinsey said he was not against an officer being in the school.

The motion passed with a 5-1 vote. Kinsey voted against the motion.

The MOU will now need to go back to the city aldermen at their December meeting to be approved. Aldermen tabled the discussion Nov. 13 in favor of sending Seaver and Turnbough to the December school board meeting.