By Kevin Jefferies
Commerce – The Commerce School Board passed a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Commerce for canine detection services in regular session last night. In the agreement, CISD will contract with the City of Commerce for drug dog services at primarily the high school. In the first or so year of the agreement, the school district will be paying just over $1,000 per month and around $11,000 total to pay for the purchase of a drug dog. Per month, it is about the same cost the district currently spends for canine services. After that initial cost is paid, however, the district will see significant savings, according to Superintendent Keith Boles.
BOLES: We're really thinking that after a year, our annual cost...probably within a year and a half to two years...will end ub being anywhere from $1500 to $2000 a year.
Commerce City Manager Bill Shipp described the agreement as one of those rare win/win situations for both parties, and said the dog will have other benefits, too.
SHIPP: Drugs dogs are typically trained where they can track, too. So say you had a missing child or something like that. They can track that.
Commerce Schools will continue contract with their current drug dog provider until the city has purchased a drug dog and is ready to take over services at the schools. The agreement goes before the Commerce City Council in their regular session tonight beginning at 7pm in the Commerce Middle School.