TCAPS Associate Superintendent Jayne Mohr says student safety is a priority in the Traverse City school district. But making School Liaison officers part of that equation could change next year. TCAPS says they just don't have the money for it. Mohr says, "Our hope would be for the city and county to realize the impact not only for the school but also the community at large."

Grand Traverse County used to fund the 20 year old school liaison program entirely on its own, but when budget problems cropped up about five years ago, they asked TCAPS to cover half the cost.  Since then, TCAPS has been spending over $100,000 dollars a year to fund the school liaison officers. Grand Traverse County and Traverse City split the difference.

Mohr says "TCAPS was in a position where we were funding a portion of the school liaison salaries and we are at a point now given the inequitable school funding across the state that we can no longer do that."

Commissioner Larry Fleis adds, "We asked them to fund it at 50%. It's a very important program to them and the kids... They're able to take care of a lot of things before they get started." Mohr agrees. "The strong relationships that the School Liaison officers establish with our youth allow them to learn about things happening within our communities."

There's no disagreement about the value of the program. But TCAPS can no longer afford it's share, and Grand Traverse County can't afford to pick up the difference. Fleis says, "We understand the budgetary constraints TCAPS is under, but we also are under the same budgetary constraints. So for us to pick up the whole tab would be very difficult."

The TCAPS School Board will meet with the County Commission on Monday. Mohr says she doesn't know what to expect. "I can't predict what will happen as a result of the discussion, recognizing that both entities are financially strapped."

We asked both Mohr and Fleis if they could envision any compromises, such as TCAPS coming up with some funding, or if the county could fund the positions 70-30, or if those officers could stay on the job but see their hours cut in order to keep the presence in the schools. Larry Fleis says "I think there's a lot of possibilities we could look at, some of them certainly and that's what I'm hoping comes out of this meeting."

Kingsley Schools also use a liaison officer from Grand Traverse County. The Superintendent wasn't available to comment on Friday - but they'll be at the upcoming meeting as well.

The joint meeting is set for next Monday April 19th at 2:00 pm. It's open to the public. It will be held in the Governmental Center on Boardman Avenue in Traverse City.