Thank you Bill as the last sentence sums up what I said over and over be past year and when the SAME words cane from me I was accused of spreading ill will rumors and poison, there is no reason to withhold but how come when Principal Antonelli was asked for rough info last year he refused to give it?
Glad to hear the Admin is partially waking up to the big issues of drugs at WA an looking to take measures so kids aren't dealing and using drugs like cocaine in the bathrooms and locker rooms. We all know we have more money from taxpayers to spend when we really want so $35~$75k for officer is no brainer to do searches on students of suspicion

The removal of the officer from WA was a BOS decision and town budget cut...and a way we could afford that awesome sidewalk from the Common to Minor Corner...which will be ripped out once Cornerstone road construction starts (a year after Cornerstine opens btw?)...sounds like drug use and bad decisions aren't just limited to WA...

I vote for stiff penalties and no "resources officer ", oops wrong thread ;)

The expendature of $30,000-$75,000 for drugs atvWA is peanuts in a $50 million annual town budget, I would like to see two uniformed oficers at the high school conducting dog searches of kids and possessions to keep our kids safe I vote spend

Please check your #s!

As a former student at WA (fairly recent grad) I can tell you the resource officer didn't do much when he was there and not much changed when he was taken out. The most I think i ever saw him doing was running license plates of cars in the parking lot without parking passes to figure out which kid they belonged to. The drug problem is not unique to westford at all. The case is the same all of the surrounding towns people! If the admin wants the respect of the students it needs to start applying rules equally. And parents need to keep an eye on what their kids are doing, its amazing how many parents in Westford are magically blind to what their kids are doing.

But if rules were applied equally there would be no more 'special perks' for having a Principal dad or School Committee mom? Come on now...

Franks doesn't have the guts to say what he is implying. Just say it. Let Andrew be the judge of what can posted.

Seems very clear to me as it is, I dont know what you want said any further. Ask a few WA students and see what they said about 'same rules for everyone' being applied over there and draw your own conclusions instead of flaming about implications

What does a Resource Officer do exactly? What are there credentials? I thought the Deans were responsible for discipline and for working with students on a more personal basis. If getting an RO is a priority, the SC should eliminate one of the Dean positions to pay for it.

"their" credentials, and you are right about the discipline. Having a resource officer is just more intimidating. It's preventative. Students are less likely to break rules at school with a SRO there.

Well having a WPD badge on their hip and a 9mm Baretta handgun on the hip like when Detective Perciballi was stationed there sure has a intimidation factor a dean and his write up slip can't muster when it comes to dealing and using dope at WA

Have you ever seen the list of duties for those deans? Its huge! From discipline all the way down to penny ante jobs overseeing clubs and room rentals from outside the building groups, and chasing down all this drug use/selling/using has become a full time not part time job if we want it done right let's pony up the cash and get a officer with badge and gun over there to shake things up

You can't just make 'big boys/girls (teachers)' do more without renegotiating a contract and paying for those services so back to square 1 with the $ thing. Teachers are paid to teach (plan, asses) and administrators are paid to do administrative jobs, the penny ante jobs fall under admin and they do a great job but if drugs is going to be a priority yes tax payers are going to have to foot the bill.

I have a hard time seeing how KJ Henderson eHow contributor is a creditable source in the field of education and/or educational job descriptions (to the extent you chose to cite him as your source) and yet everyone else lacks any credibility because they dont use their 'real name'. Seems inconsistent but oh well. I suspect the way Westford spends on things there will be money spent on a RO, there is going to be a Prop 2 1/2 override in the near future that will be close either way. As much as I dont want to pay more taxes there are some right leaning friends on here that I think are going to loose their lunch should it pass when they have to fund more of westford's pet projects

yup when confronted with facts (the deans #1 job should be school safety) turn your nose up and state: no one is smart as you are (fake name and all). Good luck on the override, I don't see it being close, I see it going down in flames until it is proven the current ~ $50 mil is well spent. Those of your ilk are doing the schools a disservice, causing many to think things are not well run, $ not well spent, ... Keep up the good work.

The first step in any recovery is to admit there is a problem, hopefully the sweep it under the rug approach of the past year is over

I couldnt agree more, I couldnt agree more. (However knowing that the same individuals are in charge I kinda doubt it, what do they say about 'old habits die hard?').
WPS status quo at all costs approach reminds me of that line that opens the film Apocalypse Now about 'the lies piling up so fast you would need wings to stay above them'

Oh they are dropping dimes over at WA but not the type you probably mean, but better safe than sorry I say spend the coin on an officer Friendly to police the kids for dope

Doesn't sound friendly at all! Detective Perciballi was at WA and was great and didn't recklessly discharge his gun left and right

"Olsen’s proposals included planning several unscheduled walkthroughs at Westford Academy and possibly the town’s Middle Schools by Westford Police K9 Officer Corey Peladeau"

I have been saying this from the first day I heard of this. That is all you need to do. It would cost very little. People are making this problem a lot harder than it needs to be.

I'd also like to know the hard numbers. Things like this are going to happen in any school, shooting for perfection is futile. But random drug dog walk throughs would end the problem quickly. Do them two, even three days in a row sometimes.

I don't have the link but there was an experiment done with dogs a while back. 2 groups of dogs. One group was always given consistent discipline, after enough time the dogs knew exactly what to expect.

The other group discipline was totally random severe punishment for minor infractions, at other times, praise for the same infraction. The dogs didn't know which way was up.

The experiment was to find out which group of dogs were more obedient in the end. It was the second group of dogs because they never knew what was coming if they didn't listen, so they were very attentive and obedient (and anxious) The first group was able to weigh risk vs reward, the second could not.

Random canine searches, sometimes days in a row so the students never know if "the day after" is safe. It will lower the problem I guarantee it so long as it is random and unannounced (no leaks)

The above principle is used in business of all types all around the world. Keep people on their toes. It is not the mystery the S.C. and Olsen spin it to be. It's been tested and proven to work, its cost effective, it's simple. It could be in place by next week. Keep the officer unarmed so no incidents like Jesse was talking about are possible. Why we are sitting around still mulling this issue over is astounding. Who is running this show?

I thought I read Westford was so broke it couldnt pay its teachers last year's step increase till the end of next year?

If that is true I dont see where there is 'extra' money laying around for new officer friendlys (or anything for that matter).
Seems to me this would send the message to town employees that there is conveniently money when the town wants there to be and vice-versa, There is about $500,000 a year in annual salary over at WA with the 4 Administrative positions- seems that is more than enough to find a few reefer joints or coke bags.

Focus on NEASC MCAS and rankings who cares about students taking a bong hit before physics class ?

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012/09/08/growing-drug-problem-being-addressed-high-schools/aag1OD30beTb15YAHckDBN/singlepage.html

so it appears the officer is a done deal? I can't see him having a lot of business after the first 2 or 3 reports (see John's comment above), the faculty should have better control inside the building!

Life lesson: when the town wants to 'find' $$$ there is never a problem doing so, remember that next contract negotiation when sure as smurf you can bet the town will cry 'no magic money tree'

I am happy the school is getting tough on dope, any guesses on the # of kids expelled is gonna be?

"the faculty should have better control inside the building!"

How do you propose they do that? Search their bags & pockets? & anyone who wants to exchange drugs is going to do it where there are no faculty. Should the faculty start doing stall raids?

"I thought I read Westford was so broke it couldnt pay its teachers last year's step increase till the end of next year?"

They were paying for it with a grant so no cost to the town.

"Focus on NEASC MCAS and rankings who cares about students taking a bong hit before physics class ?"

I'm sorta w/you on MJ but letting coke spread through the school is a bad idea. But the parents have the most control on the kid. Not that a kid doing drugs = bad parents. Mine were great, didn't stop me from a 3 year, crazy experimenting phase. But if a kid has drugs in school pointing the finger at the teacher is silly.

The article Vincent posted said the decrim of MJ sent the wrong message to kids. Booze is a far more dangerous drug yet we advertise it, sell it, tax it, & expect people to use it responsibly.DUI-ers don't go to jail till the 4th or 5th time. I've never had an altercation w/a pot head, been rear ended by a pot head. Filling Jails with them is extremely counterproductive to the tax payer & the "offender". Thats what the decrim was about. If kids are getting that message, I think it's the right one. We are afraid of implying a truth that they are just finding out on their own.

Ok, well both of those are illegal and/or against school rules.

"I am sure it does in the surrounding communities"

You are sure?

You think surrounding communities teacher's are searching kids bags and pockets and kicking down stall doors? And $25 million is not a lot of money in a district the size of westford, I pointed that out to you in another post about WA being in the top 22. Check that thread again to see what I'm talking about.

Nothing would surprise me. Students are already considered guilty before proven innocent. They are punished w/o being given their day in court via a memo of understanding with WPD. Their rights are being trampled on daily and are losing respect for the authorities.

Vincent

Facts are what we need to base things on. Fact is teachers can't bust in stall doors. There will always be a place the faculty aren't. In my day kids put joints in Bic pens. Lockers had slots in them. Ask to go to the bathroom during class, walk by a locker & slip it through the slot. Drugs flow through prisons which have guards, cameras, cavity searches & much lower ratio of guard to prisoner than teacher to student.

IMO kids bringing drugs to school is the parents responsibility. But most parents aren't kicking in bathroom doors, tossing kids rooms, at least the ones whose kids are bringing drugs to school aren't. But the teachers are expected to?

So, kid leaves home w/drugs in pocket, & goes to school, is that the teachers fault? When during the course of the day does it become the teachers fault?

After said kid brought drugs to school it's the teachers job to sniff them out? School is a place to learn. That is what teachers are paid to do. Parent's are expected to get their kids to school dressed appropriately, arrangements for food, prepared & yes, w/o illegal substances. Parents do the raising, disciplining, snooping & monitoring. They need to be in the loop on what their kids are into, who their friends are etc. If parent's can't be successful keeping drugs out of their home, w/much fewer people, & more access to the kid's lives how can teachers in the much larger school, w/hundreds of kid? Lets get real about our expectations.

Also,

"the kids follow the rules set by the faculty (just as kids and their parents), memo of understanding?"

The kids bringing drugs into school aren't. But to be clear, teachers do not make the rules in school. That is your School Committee, Superintendent & sometimes B.O.S. Teachers have nothing to do with it. All those zero-tolerance policies people get so upset about sometimes (myself included) those aren't made by the teachers. Nor are the school lunch program, the bus schedules or the snow days. So any time you talk about school rules you should associate them Olsen and the S.C., not the school faculty. Lest people think you want to blame teachers for everything.

"If a malcontent can post "I told you so", "you should see what I saw", ... comments on here then he/she should have done more during the school year."

You don't know what they saw, what they did about it any of the extenuating circumstances. You have zero details so you have no real basis to say what he/she should have done. Your "rules set by the faculty" comment also tells me that you don't understand who makes the rules or what they are, so you don't understand how in many instances teachers hands are tied. They only way a teacher is allowed to lay hands on a student is if he is going to physically harm himself or another kid. In many instances the teachers saying "I told you so" reported what they saw & it never went anywhere.

We want teachers to change the world, & accept pay decreases, raise our kids when it's convenient, threaten to sue when it's not, want them to over reach when it helps us out & tear their head off when they get in our business. You truly have no idea what it's like to run a classroom full of diverse kids from diverse backgrounds of all different abilities as well as deal with the parents. It seems you have it all figured out. Since it pays so well, with outrageous benefits I'm a little confused as to why you haven't joined the ranks to show 'em how it's done.

I'm flattered Jesse. But as I have mentioned many times I have no college education, therefore would not qualify for the job.

Also, you have stated you are very happy with Olsen's performance what changed your mind?

Still waiting for a live chat with Antonelli or Olsen. From what I hear at the highschool all 4 administrators are much more focused on walking around the building with their new iPads than rooting out narcotics in the building. Bring on officer 'friendly'

"like the Chicago school teachers, with an average salary of $76,000 plus very generous benefits for 180 days of work, turned down a 16% pay increase over 4 years."

I would have to look into the details of the contract as there are so many other things that play a role. They may have turned it down for a totally different reason. I.e. when I worked at Verizon we turned down a contract that kept health insurance free for the employees (100% company covered) and a pay increase. The reason it was turned down (against my advice) was that in included putting GPS in all the vehicles so Verizon would know where everyone was at all times and for how long. The workers didn't like that. So the article printed in the paper at the time mentioned the benefits and raises and that the union declined it. It did so in a way that made it seem like they wanted more money, but that was not the issue of contention in the contract. It's possible something similar is happening in Chicago.

My opinion on the Verizon issue is if you have nothing to hide why does it matter if there is a gps tracker on your vehicle.

But if the Chicago example you gave was as simple as you explained and that was the case here in Westford, I would have touted the generosity of the contract and encouraged people to seriously consider accepting it. But that is not what was transpired here.

"I believe in using the best qualified person for the job,Alex."

I agree whole heartedly. Mark the tape here folks.