Board weighs donor-funded fields feasibility study and a plan to replace SRO with two Class 3 officers

At the board meeting, trustees and administrators devoted substantial time to field flooding, proposed short-term field fixes, and a staffing proposal that would shift the district's school safety arrangement from one active-duty SRO to two Class 3 (retired) officers.

Administrators said community donors have offered to fund a feasibility study limited to Board-owned properties to address recurrent flooding at key athletic fields and to identify near-term, actionable improvements such as practice areas, drainage changes, or alternative field materials. The superintendent emphasized the district must own the scope of work: "If the board's architect puts that together, then we would take a look at it," he said, adding donors would be consulted but the district would lead the study.

Board members and members of the public pressed for clarity on how non-donors would be able to provide input and asked whether the study would duplicate ongoing village and Army Corps technical efforts. Administrators said the Army Corps work is on a much longer timeline (publicly discussed as multiyear, with major projects extending decades) and that the district study is intended to seek immediate, property-specific solutions. The conversation included environmental concerns over artificial turf and requests that grass, hybrid surfaces or alternative non-crumb-rubber materials be seriously considered.

Separately, the superintendent outlined a budget proposal to discontinue the district's single active-duty SRO and instead pay for two Class 3 retired officers, estimating the district's contribution would rise roughly $20,000 over its current $100,000 share. He said training, equipment and other incidentals would remain the police department's responsibility and stressed that Class 3 officers operate with the same training and safety requirements as active officers. "Being retired, they have much more experience, and we don't have to pay their benefits because they're in the state pension system," he said.

Board members asked whether the Class 3 officers would be armed and have vehicles; administrators said yes, those arrangements would be managed by the police department. Trustees also asked about state and federal grant availability for security costs; staff said the district receives a modest school security allocation as part of state aid but did not identify ongoing grant programs for this specific purpose.

Several public commenters asked whether the village had requested field-utilization data for a state DEP submission. The superintendent said much of the district's field scheduling is managed by the athletic department and agreed to investigate whether the district had provided the village with the requested utilization figures.

No formal vote on the feasibility study scope or the SRO staffing proposal occurred during the meeting; board members discussed next steps and agreed to follow the facilities committee and upcoming field committee meetings for further coordination.