Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Poland Township police Chief Greg Wilson presented testimony Tuesday at a hearing on Ohio townships’ ability to enter into a memorandum of understanding with private and parochial schools to provide a school resource officer.

POLAND TOWNSHIP — Police Chief Greg Wilson and Sgt. J.R. Jackson drove to Columbus on Tuesday to testify on an Ohio attorney general’s ruling that states nonhome rule townships cannot enter into memorandums of understanding for school resource officers with chartered nonpublic schools.

He said Poland Township has an MOU in place with Holy Family School to provide a school resource officer. That MOU is in the final year of a three-year agreement.

The issue came to light last year when an Ohio township wanted clarity about entering an MOU for a school resource officer with a chartered nonpublic school. Wilson said the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office contacted Poland Township concerning the ruling.

“We were shocked when we got the call from the prosecutor,” Wilson said. “We built our department around the community and schools.”

When Poland trustees found out about the issue, they passed a resolution Nov. 19 in support of legislation to amend Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.951. Wilson said state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, sponsored legislation (Senate Bill 318) that was scheduled for a hearing Tuesday.

Wilson said the MOU is an important part of having the school and police department work together. He said Holy Family even increased its tuition to help provide the school resource officer.

“We can place a police officer in the school, but without the agreement, who will pay for the officer,” Wilson said. “Without the MOU, there are no job descriptions, or shared financial responsibility.”

On Monday, Poland Township trustees presented written testimony to the Ohio Senate Education Committee.

The testimony stated, “The children who attend school within our township, whether at Poland Local Schools or at Holy Family, a chartered nonpublic school, are our children. They live in our neighborhoods. They participate in our youth programs. Their families are part of the life of this community. Their safety is not a policy discussion for us; it is personal.”

Trustee Eric Ungaro said in the testimony, “We are not asking for mandates. We are not asking for state funding. We are simply asking for the ability to continue making responsible, local decisions that reflect the needs and values of our community. When Resolution 25-37 was enacted, trustee Joanne Wollet, trustee Edward Kempers, and I alongside Chief Greg Wilson, made a conscious decision to remove politics from the process. We are 100% committed to the safety of children in our schools — public, private and parochial alike.”

Wilson said his goal is to have the section preventing townships from the MOUs changed so that all Ohio township police departments can enter into agreements with chartered private schools within their districts.

“We are doing this for us, but it can affect all Ohio townships,” Wilson said. “We are taking this on for our kids at Holy Family School.”