West Milford - Last year there were full-time school resource officers in both the middle and the high school. But this year, despite three school shootings across the nation in one week, West Milford has cut police presence in school by almost 80 percent. An officer is available about two days a week this year. Most of that time is spent in the high school. While some people may look to the board of ed for an answer, the problem has to do with the police officer’s employment contract. Board of Education Member Greg Bailey had no patience with this problem. At Tuesday night’s meeting he asked, “What happens when the horse is already out of the barn?” An obviously strong proponent of school security, Bailey pleaded with the board to address the situation and even offered to involve his “peeps” in raising money to pay for police protection within the schools. But Superintendent Glenn Kamp said the problem doesn’t revolve around money. Police Chief Paul Costello said he endorses the program, but his hands are tied. School resource officers have to be specially trained. Although he said he has put out a call to recruit officers for the training, there are currently only three members of the department that are qualified as SROs, and one of them is out on medical leave. In addition, placing officers in the schools results in overtime. He likened the problem to asking the district to loan him some teachers on a full-time basis it might be for a good thing, but it doesn’t mean the district can afford to do without its employees. Several years ago the state had funding for the school resource officers. At that time, the council opted not to file for a grant. Since the district doesn’t reimburse the township for the officer’s salaries, the police department had been using its own budget to fund the program. Plus, a hiring freeze has resulted in a depletion of officers. There are currently 42 working members of the force to staff the department 24/7. Costello said he would need a minimum of 48 to comfortably provide two full-time people to the schools. Board of education member Tim Foley suggested the board draft a letter to the township council asking for support regarding the situation.