Quincy dismisses security officer

Police department hiring additional officers

QUINCY — Quincy School District Security Resource Officer Gus Winter's contract was terminated Tuesday, ending a five-year span of working at the district.

The school board voted to end the contract because Winter spent less time at the district than outlined in a contract with the Quincy Police Department, Fox said. The police department called Winter away from the district frequently due to a staff shortage, Fox said.

"He's just been a wonderful resource for us," District Superintendent Roger Fox said. "However, the city police department's been understaffed and having personnel issues that they're dealing with and as a consequence they're taking him away from us all the time. And the frustrating (part) for me is, here I'm paying for this contract but yet he's never working for the school district."

Police Chief William Gonzales said he contacted Fox on Jan. 5 regarding the possibility of suspending the security resource officer program until vacant positions at the police department were filled. The police department has two existing officer positions open and is hiring for two new positions. A fifth position could be filled with retirement of an officer. Eight are on staff.

Gonzales confirmed Winter was called away from the district to perform other duties.

"There's no doubt, and that was due basically to man shortage," Gonzales said. "There were times when he was pulled off the (school resource officer) position to assist our officers. There were times where he would take time off on his own for personal reasons, so there were times where he wasn't around … We tried not to remove him from that position, but sometimes emergencies do dictate that."

Fox said he hopes the district can hire its own employee with a possible expansion of duties. He envisions an officer who can handle the schools' crisis plans, speak in classrooms and work with the district's technology department on security. He said Winter was a wonderful individual and the decision to terminate the contract was difficult.

"Ethically, I cant sit back and just keep letting money go out the door and we're not getting a service for it," Fox said.

He noted Winter would make an outstanding candidate for any new resource officer position opening within the district.

Gonzales said the district and police department are revisiting the situation after Fox explores the option of forming a new district position.

Gonzales said the groups work together in other respects and continue to share a positive relationship. The resource officer position strongly benefited both groups, he said.

"Having the (school resource officer) or a police officer there at the schools helped immensely for both sides. The relationship is going to continue because like I say, our main job is to protect the children and that's what we're both looking at," Gonzales said. "We're just doing it in a different way."