Flash Red Flag Warning!!!

Are Fowlerville Schools going to the Dogs?

It is true, Fowlerville Schools are going to the dogs, well at least one dog is enrolled in Fowlerville High School.  Quinn was bought out of a canine school in Elkhart, Indiana for a tidy sum of $8,500.00, he is trained to detect eight different drugs, including the prescribed variety or so it seems. The high school principal, Buggia reported to the press that there was one goal in mind when it came to making the purchase of Quinn; to provide a safe, drug-free environment. "That is the same reason we hired a police liaison officer," he stated to the Community News.

The problem here is who is going to support this 2 and 1/2 year old dog that is the property of the public school system? Who is responsible for taking care of him? My understanding Officer Soli, a Fowlerville resident seems to be the sole caretaker of the canine. There seems to be a great injustice here when it comes to funds in my opinion. First with all the low budget problems facing the school system to purchase a high price animal to use in place of Officer Soli is one thing but to purchase the canine to do the work Officer Soli does but retain the cost of an liaison officer, and support his partner the pooch is a little much.

Now my understanding is that Officer Soli expects and plans to be the caretaker of Quinn for at least the next nine years or so. He admitted to taking Quinn everywhere he goes. Does this mean that our school system has help Officer Soli purchase himself a very expensive dog, to protect and maintain his personal life while sporting the halls of our schools during the day time hours?  With the expectation of supporting Quinn will we also be expected to offer Officer Soli a raise for his part in taking care of Quinn? Many questions arise from the decision to enlist the help of a canine cop. Who exactly is going to support Quinn for the next nine years?  Are we in such a mess in Fowlerville that we need to be burdened with this on going cost to protect our children?

I am sure the kids are smart enough not to bring drugs on school grounds now, lets hope they are anyway, but will this detour the crime of drugs in the community. I hardly think so, more likely it will divert attention for a while and cost tax payers additional funds to oversea this new operation of hard hitting task force policing. The sad part is we were not even ask ahead of time if this was what we, the parents want in our school.  When do we stop and say enough is enough?

Just my point of view

Submitted by Ruth Bowe