MEXICO — Regional School Unit 10 directors were asked Monday night to consider putting a police officer in all district schools.

Gary Dolloff, director of the Greater Rumford Community Center, and Roland Bousquet, owner of the Paper Plate in Mexico, said were concerned after 17 people were gunned down in a Florida high school Feb. 14.

Dolloff said staff at RSU 10 schools should be trained for such emergencies.

“I’m asking you to consider putting at least one (school resource officer) in the schools,” he said. “This is so important in this day and age. We need to be proactive and come up with new ideas to protect our children.”

Bousquet said he is hosting a community meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday at his business for everyone involved with the schools to discuss what police are up against.

“Right now in our school, there are students who are criminally threatened.” he said. “We can’t just let this stuff slide; the community has to get involved.”

In an unrelated matter, Superintendent Deborah Alden advised directors about the 2018-19 budget, including $746,000 more for salaries.

“Obviously what we can expend has a lot to do with what we’re going to get for revenues,” she said.

Susan Provencher has been hired as an educational technician III at Pennacook Learning Center and Amber Durant has been hired as a special education educational technician I at Meroby Elementary School.

mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net

Deborah Alden, superintendent in Regional School Unit 10, speaks to the school board Monday about the start of the budgeting process for next year. (Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times)