MONTAGUE — Dan Miner, who serves as the school resource officer at Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School, is leaving the school temporarily, along with comfort dog Mack, due to staffing shortages within the Montague Police Department.

During an all-school meeting Tuesday, Principal Shawn Rickan announced that Miner and Mack, a 6-year-old Labrador retriever, will be leaving the district for the rest of the school year after being called to full-time service with Montague Police. Miner is expected to return in the fall.

“It’s a temporary setback, and the town needs me,” Miner said in an interview Wednesday, adding that he is going to miss the students and staff while he is away.

Rickan told staff and students the announcement was designed to be transparent with the community about the reasoning for Miner’s absence and to get ahead of any possible “rumor mill,” adding that Miner will be out “doing the great job that he does for the community” while he’s away from the school.

After the all-school meeting, Miner stressed the decision was a “last resort” that has no connection to police budget shifts or any conduct issues involving his service in the school district.

Gill-Montague Regional School District Superintendent Brian Beck provided the same notice to the public and School Committee during its Tuesday night meeting, saying that he met with Montague Police Chief Christopher Williams to discuss the move. Beck reassured School Committee members that the change is temporary.

Miner will transition to being a full-time patrol officer starting Feb. 24, and Mack will be staying at home with family while Miner is on duty. He said he still plans to come to the school to visit and participate in safety drills, and he will still do community outreach with Mack. Mack joined the district in 2019, becoming the first full-time school comfort dog in Franklin County.

The decision comes as the Montague Police Department is particularly short-staffed. Montague Town Administrator Walter Ramsey confirmed Wednesday that when the department is fully staffed, it has 18 members. There are currently three vacant positions and two officers are on leave.

Lt. Christopher Bonnett has been on paid administrative leave since Dec. 11, 2024 amid an internal investigation and Sgt. Jacob Dlugosz is temporarily on leave recovering from an injury he sustained while on duty on Dec. 31.

Two of the three vacancies have been filled by officers who are in training at the police academy, but they are not on patrol at this time.

Ramsey added that in December 2024, Patrol Officer Jamal Holland left the Montague Police Department. Holland has since joined the Paxton Police Department in Worcester County, according to the department’s website and a Dec. 20 post on the department’s Facebook page welcoming Holland.

In September 2024, the Montague Police Department began offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus in an effort to fill the vacant officer positions.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.