BY JILLIAN QUINLAN
Clarkston News Intern

With the Clarkston schools? announcement to stop the funding of one of two liaison officers, Independence Township is left with a big decision.
The township government has split the cost of the second liaison officer, which is $89,450, with the school district, but school officials? chose to make that one of their budget cuts for 2003-2004. Township officials generally recognize the need for this officer and are contemplating taking on financial responsibility alone.
‘These kids need all the help they can get. It’s not that we have bad schools, but we do not want to create bad schools,? Trustee David Wagner said at the Tuesday, June 17 township board meeting.
The position to be cut is currently working at the middle schools.
‘The middle school liaison has the most important position. We need to talk to these kids and get a better understanding of what is going on with their lives, and we currently have the best liaison officer out there,? said Wagner.
‘We have to keep in mind that we are not funding the officer for the schools, we are funding it for the community,? District Judge Dana Fortinberry said.
Some on the board talked of the township’s financial challenges, especially in light of cuts in the state’s revenue sharing with local governments.
‘I don’t like the fact that we’re having to pick up the slack for an entity that takes 80 percent of our tax dollars,? Trustee Daniel Travis said. ‘That leaves us with 20 percent of the tax revenue to continue to bail them out at different times for different problems.?
Clerk Joan McCrary also said, ‘This is a good thing,? but wondered why school officials did not approach the township board before making their decision to cut that part of their budget. She also noted a school district budget of about $64 million, compared with the township budget of approximately $20 million.
‘We didn’t propose it to begin with,? McCrary said. ‘I still think we should do some negotiations before we just up and pick up the whole tab.?
The board voted to seek an agreement with the school district seeking reimbursement if their budget situation improves. Also, since a percentage of Clarkston students live in Springfield Township, Independence officials would like to see if they will participate in the funding for liaison officers.