Towanda School District to participate in Community Workforce Inmate Program

BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (STAFF WRITER)
Published: February 9, 2010

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TOWANDA - The Towanda Area School District on Monday became the first school district in Bradford County to sign up to participate in the county's newly created Community Workforce Inmate Program, which allows non-violent inmates to work on community service projects throughout the county.

The Towanda Area School Board voted 7-1 Monday to have the Towanda Area School District participate in the Community Workforce Inmate Program.

Towanda schools Superintendent Diane Place has said she is mainly interested in using the inmates to do landscaping and lawn mowing work on property owned by the school district.

"I look at this as perhaps a way to save money," said Pete Alesky, vice-president of the Towanda Area School Board. "If you add up all the costs of landscaping and lawn mowing, that is a lot of expense to that. If we could cut that down - perhaps this is the way to do it."

To find out more about the program, the school board invited the warden of the Bradford County Correctional Facility, Donald Stewart, to attend Monday's school board meeting.

Stewart said the county is providing the inmates as laborers at no charge to school districts, municipalities, or non-profit organizations.

He said a corrections officer would supervise the inmates at all times at the work sites, and that there would be no more than six inmates being supervised by a corrections officer.

He said there will be a policy in place that will require the inmates to be within view and earshot of the corrections officer.

The corrections officers will carry Tasers, and not firearms, he said.

The inmates will not be allowed to have contact with friends or acquaintances from the community while they are at a work site, the warden said.

While the inmates would normally be available to do community service projects during business hours, county jail officials would be able to make arrangements for the inmates to do work on weekends or in the evenings, as long as it is not dark out, the warden said.

The warden also said that the school district will be able to specify where the inmates can stay while at the work site.

For example, the school district would be able bar inmates from entering any school building or even from being within a certain distance of the school building, he said.

In other words, the school district will be able to establish a "perimeter" around a school building within which an inmate would not be able to travel, the warden said.

All of the inmates in the program will come from the Bradford County Correctional Facility, the warden said.

School board members said the district will use the inmates on an "as-needed" basis and that the district will pick and choose which projects they want to use the inmates for.

They noted that the district owns property other than the school district's three-school campus, where there would be work for inmates to do, such as at Memorial Park in Towanda and the grounds of the former Wysox Elementary School.

School Board member Evelyn Sherburne said she liked the fact that the school district will be able to use the inmates on weekends or in the evenings, in case it did not want them on the campus when school is in session.

Stewart said the inmates involved in the program will be "lower-security" inmates, and that they will be screened by a judge, the warden, the deputy warden, the county probation department, and others before being allowed to participate in the program. An inmate will not be allowed to participate in the Community Workforce Inmate Program unless he or she has been approved by all of the people involved in the screening process, the warden said.

Only non-violent prisoners will be permitted to participate in the Community Workforce Inmate Program, Stewart has said.

Sex offenders and prisoners who have escaped from incarceration or attempted such an escape would also be barred from participating in the program, he said.

David Rice, who cast the sole "nay" vote, has expressed concern about the program, saying that there are always children on Towanda School District campus, even when school is not in session. That is because there is a day care facility on the Towanda School District campus that operates year round, he said.

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or email: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com

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Not a parent but a tax payer, 02/13/10 10:11

NPK, Wow not sure what reality you live in but there is no way they will spend it on books or the student. Best bet is the saved money will go right to the teachers pockets.

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Pete, 02/12/10 12:27

I don't live in Towanda but if I did and they were going to let inmates work around the school, I would pull my children out and have them home-schooled or move. If that town is in that bad of shape that they have to hire inmates so they can afford books then maybe they should shut that school down all together.

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Not from there thank god!, 02/12/10 12:06

I think it's a great idea. Towanda will be saving money. WHICH MEANS MORE MONEY TO BE SPENT ON EDUCATION! One officer per six inmates? That is a very good ratio. Considering one officer can work alone with more 40 inmates. This was a great move by Towanda. Thank goodness some people are actually thinking about our future leaders by trying to save money that can be spent on better things, such as, maybe books? How about this, the people who don't like the idea can tell the kids: The reason why you haven't been educated enough to attend college is because we decided to spend thousands of dollars on LANDSCAPING and LAWN CARE instead of books, or heck even another teacher. It's a darn shame.

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NPK, 02/12/10 1:12

Oh and I forget how justice is so blind in this town. Give me a break. The school board has made poor decision's more than once. Are you saying they are perfect beyond the average person. Listen to what Speechless has to say. That is exactly what the school should start understanding. They will let inmates at the jail, but not someone who hasn't been in jail in 20yrs. and doesn't have sex offender behind them. That yet again makes no sense. But of course you Tired of the Status Quo just think inmates are god send to our community. And you act as though the court system is so grand, well let's not forget Judge Mott and his wife. But we have such a great system in this county. Why doesn't the government come in and do a clean sweep of our county like they are the others. Then the corrupt system we have here will be done with. Then we'll talk about how morally right our court system, school board, and Children and Youth services are.

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Concerned Parent--Amanda, 02/11/10 3:44

I have an additional issue with this whole thing which is that someone who commited a crime (not a sex crime) in there late teens now 20yrs later that has proven themselves to be of good moral character as an adult cannot even work on school property as a sub-contractor. But you will allow someone currently in the system work there? Why, why, why?

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Speechless, 02/11/10 2:08

"just can't win" has the idea. It is very easy to say "the school board" as if it is a thing, and forget that it is made up of caring school district residents, not brainless, sadistic child-haters.

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Tired of the Status Quo, 02/11/10 8:17

And point being there are jobs they can do without exposing them to our community. Screening they say okay for some one to work at a school you have to have clearances so you are telling me these people who are inmates have clearances and they are some how above the average person whom works for what they have and have to pass a clearance. If you are in Jail you don't have clearances. So hey everyone let's just hire teachers without the credentials or clearances to provide a learning/safe/nurturing environment for our children. Obviously Tired of the Status Quo doesn't sit back and think about all the money it takes to get clearances to work at the school, court house, probation, police station, jails, and Children & Youth services, but being they are inmates why do they need them. Well they do. They put themselves their by their own actions. They should work away from our school and community. Rehabilitate the inmates without the chance of something serious happening. I thoroughly stand by the fact that these inmates need not to be working near our schools or in such a close proximity to our community. DUI, Bad Check, etc. or not. It doesn't excuse them from what they have already done wrong and the choices they made to get them there. REHABILITATE THEM ELSE WHERE, DO NOT RISK THE CHANCE OF OUR CHILDREN AND OUR CITIZEN'S GETTING IN HARMS WAY FOR THE IGNORANCE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. LET THEM REHABILITATE THESE INMATE OUTSIDE OF OUR COMMUNITY!!!!!

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Concerned Parent--Amanda, 02/10/10 12:38

Amanda,

I DO have children and I DO live near the schools. What part of SCREENED do you not get. As far as taking jobs away from people who need them - I highly doubt that any of the agencies using the inmates would have HIRED anyone to do the work - it just wouldn't get done or would be done by existing workers.

I work with people who are unemployed or have been layed off or are on Welfare so I know the opportunities in this area. There are jobs - some of them are very hard work and demanding - but others are not. There are opportunities, be it employment, training or Volunteering (which although it does not pay money, it does give skills, confidence and references to help with their job search).

To quote NEWSWEEK: In a Parade magazine article last year, Sen. James Webb noted that the United States houses one fourth of the world's prisoners. "With so many of our citizens in prison ... there are only two possibilities," he observed. "Either we are home to the most evil people on earth or we are doing something ... vastly counterproductive." Webb, a former Marine, is pushing to establish a blue-ribbon commission to look into reforming the system—the first such body since 1965, when America had one seventh the current number of prisoners.

We have to look at Bradford County's inmates on a case by case basis not lump them all together as an entire unrehabilitative group. Some inmates actually take the time they are in jail to better themselves by getting their GED. True - they are not angels and are in jail for a reason but there is a big difference between a drug dealer (who would not pass the SCREENING process anyway) and a guy who passed bad checks, had a DUI (not resulting in death of an individual). Case by Case and discretion is needed - not a lump-mentality.

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Tired of the Status Quo, 02/10/10 10:36

And to think everyone was worried about that teen-aged boy in Wyalusing getting on eleconic monitoring. What a joke! Why don't we just turn the prison into a hotel. All of the prisoners are going to be out on the streets anyways.

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Mel, 02/10/10 10:35

Towanda School District can't win. They try to save some money, and everybody jumps all over them Do you think they would do anything that even has a remote chance of hurting a student? The lawsuit would ruin them. Most of our local inmates are non-violent, and anyone chosen for this duty would be hyper-screened. They cancel school at the thought of a snowflake to keep bus riders safe. So, I assume they have carefully thought this out. Go ahead and oppose this. Just don't cry when your taxes go up.

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just can't win, 02/10/10 9:32

Okay Joe and Tired of The Status Quo - you think it's okay for criminals to be in close proximity to our children and other citizens. You ever think rehabilitating doesn't always work. And fine you want them to learn work experience there are other ways of doing it instead of bringing them into direct connect to your community. And you say people with less than a two year sentence won't escape, please are you living in reality or fantasy b/c Jail breaks with short or long sentences have been known to happen or do you need a history lesson. 1 corrections officer with a taser and 6 convicts and you think that is relatively safe. How about the people's homes who are directly by the school how do you think they feel with having criminal's near their home's and near their children. Like it has already been said have them pick up litter that's a job. Work at the dump oh there's another job. Need I say more. Parents who care about their children should be worried and even those who don't have children should concern about their safety as well. And this day and age if you lose your job it's hard to find one so to talk about people saying that they most likely were living off of welfare prior to losing their job or being imprisoned is a bit ridiculous. How would you feel if you lost your job had nothing to fall back on and had to live off of unemployment/welfare because now an inmate has your job. Reality check, They put themselves in Jail maybe they should have thought about that before they acted on the ignorance that got them there in the first place. Laws are set in place for a reason.

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Concerned Parent--Amanda, 02/09/10 10:09

I am extremely disturbed by this decision. When a choice is put before "our" school board to save money or ensure the UTMOST safety of our children.....Why is that even a choice???? All through the year there are children at the schools and near the schools. There are sporting events, girls scouts, boy scouts, etc. that are held on our school grounds all year round.

Is a drug user or a drug dealer considered a non-violent criminal??? Am I wrong that drugs HURT our society and even our children every single day???

Also, the inmate may not have committed a violent offense or attempted an escape prior to their approval to work on our school grounds, however, there was a first time for each and everyone of the inmates that has done so prior to their sentencing.

As a parent I intend to voice my concern over this issue and I would encourage all other parents,grandparents, etc. who feel the same to join forces and do the same whether it be through letters written to the editors or attending a school board meeting to voice our concerns.

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Tracy Miller, 02/09/10 10:04

Joe,
Your example of a first-time DUI offender being thrown in jail is a bit overblown. As is your idea that a hard working first-time offender who made an "error in judgement" is in jail and thus unable to support his family, forcing them onto welfare. Most of these offenders who have extended stays in jail are already unable to take care of themselves and their families, and were likely already nursing off the welfare system anyway. I understand how politically incorrect it sounds to have inmates around schools, but I see this program as a step in the right direction. Everyone keeps complaining about the cost of the jail, the treatment of the inmates, lack of rehabilitation, blah blah blah. This program will save money and will give inmates, who are theoretically deserving, a chance to make an honest contribution to society while saving the school district a few bucks.
Sure, we could come up with any sky-is-falling-ripped-from-CSI scenario we want, but lets be realistic. Non-violent offenders with convictions of less than 2 years who are given the chance to get out for a few hours will have very little motivation to run away and/or harm our kids.

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Paul, 02/09/10 3:48

Stupid, stupid decision. If you want to make them work, there is still plenty of litter along the highways to be picked up, there are plenty of people who would love to have their sidewalks shoveled after it snows, how about using a shovel to fill potholes on some of the back roads the gas trucks are using. Hundreds of things they could do without putting our children at risk. Children use the playground after hours and on week-ends as well as in the summer. Are they now going to be banned from playing on THEIR school playgrounds so the inmates can be there instead? This is trouble just waiting to happen. You know, some police training requires that they themselves be tased. An inmate would certainly be willing to risk it for a chance at escape!

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Dan West, 02/09/10 2:27

Wow so now the school district wants to bring criminals close to our childeren so they can save money. Question is where is this money going? Maybe if the overpaid teachers didn't get a raise in a recession they could afford one or two more "laborers"

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Sick and Tired, 02/09/10 12:35

Another side to consider - the inmate is learning a skill that could lead to a job when they are done serving their time, increasing the chance they will not become a re-offender. Also does it make sense that a true deep-seeded criminal is going to get on this work team? With all the review processes for screening the participants would have to be the "cream of the crop" as the saying goes.

The negative comments highlight the fact that some people have a poor opinion of the county's judges, the warden, the deputy warden and the county probation department. That is a lot of people not to trust. The comments also highlight the fact that no matter what is trying to be done in this area you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.

These are community service programs for programs that would otherwise have to spend monies that they just don't have. Most non-profit agencies have had their grant funds cut to the bare bone and are facing more cuts in the near future.

So I guess the choice is either to try something new that has the potential to help the inmates and the community agencies or do we just do nothing.

And for all the people who are not working right now, you also have the opportunity to help out these non-profit agencies -- Become a Volunteer - you might learn a new skill too.

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Tired of the Status Quo, 02/09/10 11:46

Financial understanding please give me a break. The county complains of so many people unemployed and one's on welfare. Wake up smell the coffee people with this new found plan of having criminals around our schools, our children, and in our community not only are they allowing a dangerous incident to occur they are taking jobs from people who need them. I live within a short radius from The Bradford County Children and Youth Services and guess what I had to see the other day, inmates within a matter of less than a football field away from where my children were playing. Now I am reduced to keeping my children either inside my home or in the back yard. Because I feel allowing them to ride their bikes or play in my front yard is unsafe. You say non violent criminals, but remember these men are locked up and if they get the first chance to escape if they want to they will and guess what there are young children and innocent citizens they can use to their advantage. Our county wants to save Money then lets give people who are not an inmate Jobs to support their families and let them get off of unemployment/welfare. Then you will see this county save money and have a safe environment for our children and citizens.

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Concerned Parent, 02/09/10 10:03

I agree with the financial reasoning for this decision but I have concerns that an incident might occur, which would compromise the safety of our students. I understanding that most of these activities would probably occur during the summer months, when school is not in session. The chance for an incident might occur and it only takes one opportunity for a parent to pursue legal options against the school district. I also view this ackward situation as an opportunity to help inmates repay their debt to society establish a new start in life. I sure that this decision is going to recieve some harsh criticism from many parents.

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William Stilton, 02/09/10 9:27

I think that is the worst thing to be exposing our children to. Do the people who voted for this stupid plan have no concern for the safety of our children or community?

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Connie, 02/09/10 9:23

Towanda School District to participate in Community Workforce Inmate Program

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