BROOKFIELD — With a firm belief that education is a cornerstone of a progressive community, Brookfield Trustees Chairman Gary Lees said he is excited about a joint venture involving the township, school officials and the Trumbull County court system that will address school truancy rates.

Lees, along with Brookfield Schools Superintendent Timothy Saxton, prosecutors from Trumbull County Eastern District Court and Judge Richard James will meet Tuesday to develop the Challenger Program, a coordinated effort between schools and law enforcement that aims to make parents accountable for students who skip school.

Lees has mentioned numerous times at township trustee meetings that education “has to be the first priority” of officials working to better the community, and he said he thinks the result of working together with the schools and judges will make Brookfield a source of pride for its residents. He recognized several outstanding students at the July meeting and said he plans to continue putting an emphasis on education.

“I’ve seen it in other areas of the state where the most progressive communities put education first. That spreads. The people who live there start wanting to make it a better place to live. They take pride in their community,” he said.

“We don’t want to have parents who lay in bed instead of getting Johnny up and ready for school. They lay in bed instead of making Johnny go to school and now Johnny is laying in bed all day. They aren’t taking initiative. Everything else spins off from that. We go from truancy to breaking and entering,” Lees said.

He said Judge James will talk about how other problems escalate when truancy continues unabated and said officials from Niles, Warren, Newton Falls and other Ohio communities will also be involved.

Details of the pilot program will be worked out Tuesday morning, Lees said, but he credits Saxton with being willing to work with everyone.

“I think once this gets going other communities will be looking at it as well, and I give him credit for being so willing to participate.”

The basic premise, he added, is that parents will be sent a letter after a student misses too much school and then will be expected to attend parenting classes to avoid police charges. The students will have to attend a “study table” where they will make up what they missed in school, Lees said.

If parents do not cooperate and the student does not make up the missed work, charges and fines will begin, Lees said.

He also said several retired teachers have been approached about donating a month of their time to work with truant students, and organizers will be approaching Youngstown State University students looking for internships who could help with the “study table.”

He didn’t know the exact numbers of Brookfield students who are truant, but he said “it’s high.” Saxton was not available for comment.

“A lot of people have asked me why the trustees want to get involved in a school thing. I want to be involved to help people have a sense of pride about their community. It all starts with education, but it includes other things as well,” he said.

He mentioned the beautification program that the township oversees.

“It’s all about taking pride in the community. When you have pride, you’ll want to do things. We have those beautiful schools. Families who have pride, their kids will want to attend school. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. If our residents have pride then the community will be a better place to live,” Lees said.