Feb 25, 2013 3 min read

MAPLETOWN – Southeastern Greene School Board voted Monday to hire a school police officer to increase security in district schools.

The board voted to hire Bryan Smith at $14 an hour as a full-time officer during the school year. Smith, who has received the required Act 120 certification to be a police officer, will be armed, Superintendent William Henderson said.

“The safety of our students and our staff is our first priority,” Henderson said. He noted that in the past, the district has had security guards in the schools.

The board also is considering hiring a second officer, Henderson said. This will allow the district to station one officer at the Bobtown Elementary School and the other at Mapletown Junior-Senior High School.

Smith is a graduate of Mapletown High School and the Indiana University Police Academy. He currently is an officer with the Cumberland Township Police Department.

The board also voted to replace the old fire alarm and security systems at Mapletown The board approved a motion to spend an amount not to exceed $200,000 for the system from Secure U.S. through a government bidding program.

The board also approved a bid received by the Greene County Tax Claim Bureau to sell a tax delinquent property in Bobtown for $100 to the Greene County Redevelopment Authority.

The board voted down the motion at its last meeting. On Monday, David Mirkovich, executive director of the redevelopment authority, attended the meeting to explain what the authority planned to do with the property.

The house at 193 Adelaide St., has been delinquent since 2006. The property failed to sell at a tax sale and at a subsequent judicial sale, at which it was offered for sale free and clear of all liens and delinquent taxes.

Mirkovich said the authority would like to purchase the property from the tax claim bureau, rehabilitate the home and sell it. This would provide housing in the community and return the property to the tax rolls, which would benefit the district, he said.

Proceeds from the sale would be used by the authority to purchase another tax delinquent home somewhere in the county, which also would be rehabilitated and sold. This would continue, eventually making the program self-sustaining, Mirkovich said.

The redevelopment authority has about $15,000 in the bank for the program and has received a commitment from the county to assist with money from the county’s Act 13 impact fee allocation.

Board members questioned Mirkovich, noting among other things that if the house isn’t sold and is simply rented, remaining under the authority’s ownership, it would be tax exempt and fail to produce tax revenue for the district. Mirkovich said he hoped to sell the property.

Board member Rick Barzanti questioned whether the county should be in the real estate business. He also spoke of the push earlier to approve the Keystone Opportunity Zone program, which had promised benefits to the district but produced nothing.

Mirkovich pointed out, however, that the district currently collects no taxes on the property. “If I fail, you’re no worse off than you are now,” he said.

In other business, the board approved a senior class trip to Cedar Point and the Kalhari Water Park May 20 and 21. The class will raise money to cover expenses.

The board approved a mobile dental hygiene program, provided at no cost to the district by Cornerstone Care, at Bobtown Elementary in the spring.

A licensed dental hygienist will provide free or reduced price dental care to students whose parents sign the required permission slips. The program will not replace the free dental services provided student in kindergarten and third grade.