The good folks in Washington, D.C., could learn a lot about how to work together if they followed the example set in Westbrook. Let me explain why.

Our School Committee and the City Council are working diligently on their respective budgets for the coming year. As we in Maine continue to experience very difficult economic times, these elected folks have been hard at work trying to make the right decisions that will provide the necessary resources in our community while not causing greater financial pain for our citizens.

Recently, the School Committee wrapped up its budget process. Overall, I believe they have made some very good decisions, decisions that will put our school system on sound financial footing, meeting the needs of the children while keeping a close and watchful eye on the finances.

I do have one specific area of concern. Currently, the Westbrook school system has two school resource officers (SROs). One is stationed at the high school and the other at the junior high. The school board has decided to take another approach, one that includes only one SRO going forward.

I have great concerns with this approach, as our school system is confronted with significant issues regarding drugs and violence – issues, by the way, that are being faced in every high school in Maine and likely every high school around our nation.

I contacted Westbrook Public Safety Chief Mike Pardue and Westbrook School Superintendent Marc Gousse to express my concerns and gain their thinking on the issue. Chief Pardue expressed concern about the reduction of one SRO in the school district. Superintendent Gousse explained the new approach the school district was taking regarding the additions of new assistant principals and how they planned to use an integrated approach to addressing the issues that might be commonly addressed by the SRO.

The words of District Court Judge Keith Powers were still ringing in my ears as I listened. I am paraphrasing here, but the judge recently said that he was concerned about the fact that Westbrook youth were in his court regarding drugs in a disproportionate manner as opposed to the rest of Cumberland County.

Knowing that “significant” activity is up this year at the high school, coupled with the knowledge of Judge Powers’ words, I brought my concerns to the school board meeting last Wednesday evening. After a brief discussion, Superintendent Gousse and School Chair Ed Symbol decided to engage Chief Pardue on the issue and the school board voted to pass the budget with the SRO cut in place.

We all want a safe environment for our children to learn. We all want to keep them out of harm’s way. The issue was not the goal. The issue was the method of how to achieve the goal.

This is where Washington, D.C., could learn from Westbrook. By staying focused on the goal and not a pre-determined method to achieve the goal, Chief Pardue, Superintendent Gousse and School Chairman Symbol crafted a new path that will create a stronger working relationship between law enforcement and the school system. This new path integrates a variety of police officers in the K-8 school buildings where they build positive relationships with the students, allowing the students to get to know the police officers as the positive role models in our community that they truly are, not merely men and women who show up when something has gone wrong.

This new approach does not cost more money. This new approach effectively addresses the concern of a lack of law enforcement resources in the school system and affords a new day in the relationship between the school, the students and our police department.

This very positive development could only have occurred because the parties were willing to work together, putting aside egos and jurisdictional turf and simply being focused on what is best for our school and our children.

I appreciate the efforts and congratulate the parties on a job well done.

Ray Richardson is a resident of Westbrook.

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