School liaisons approved by Rochester Hills

Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, October 22, approved continued funding in the 2018-19 school year for the police school liaison program at the Rochester Community School District.

The program, which has been in place for several decades, is an inter-governmental agreement among the school district, the city of Rochester Hills, the city of Rochester and Oakland Township. The program provides that sheriff's deputies are assigned as school liaison officers within the school district.

The total cost for the program for the 2018-19 school year is $608,260, which includes $40,000 for projected overtime. Under the agreement, the school district pays 25 percent of the program cost, as well as overtime, for a total of $182,065. The remaining amount is split between Oakland Township ($104,178, or 24.4 percent); Rochester ($39,304 or 9.2 percent); and Rochester Hills ($282,713, or 66.3 percent).

Rochester Hills Chief Financial Officer Joe Snyder said the cost to the city increased .33 percent over last year. He said the largest increase went to Oakland Township, which increased its percentage paid from 20 percent to 24.4 percent, due to an increase in students enrolled at the district.