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| Legislative Committee Sends School Resource Officer Request from Harrisville Central to Full Board for Approval 09/07/18 02:00pm By: Nick Altmire |
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second school district in Lewis County to add a school resource officer(SRO), which would be provided by the Lewis County Sheriff's Office. South Lewis Central School was the first district in the county to introduce the position last year, after the district received a state school violence prevention grant for a five year period that annually pays $58,673. Harrisville budgeted $55,000 for the position in their 2018-19 school year budget, after initiating discussions with the Sheriff's Office back in February. District superintendent Robert Finster said he had his first discussions on the subject with Lewis County Manager Ryan Piche in May. The proposal was first brought to the Courts & Law legislative committee during their June 14 meeting. The committee, consisting of legislators Greg Kulzer, Jerry King and Ron Burns, heard from Undersheriff Jason McIntosh at that time, who informed the committee that the Harrisville district was interested in a resource officer for the then upcoming school year. Mr. Piche noted that Copenhagen Central School was researching the possibility, while Beaver River hadn't had any discussions on the topic. Lowville Academy was also researching the possibility, but would use the Lowville Police Department if moving forward with the position. Based on the model used with South Lewis, Mr. Piche noted during the June meeting the unofficial policy of the County picking up the fringe benefit cost for the SRO positions, with the school district paying the salary. The County would then use the officer when school is not in session for Parks and Recreation patrols or wherever else they may be needed. The benefit package was estimated at $28,000 per year, while the starting salary for a deputy is $55,000 per year. The committee then recommended developing an official policy on SROs in schools. Harrisville officially submitted a letter of intent to the County for the position on June 21st. The topic came up again at the July 12 meeting of the committee, with no action taken. The subject was not discussed at the August meeting of the committee. The district superintendent and the Lewis County Sheriff Michael Carpinelli then appeared before the full legislative board during the public comment period at the September 4 Board of Legislators meeting, inquiring on the status of the position and expressing the school board's strong desire to start a SRO as soon as possible. They were ultimately told the committee would take up the issue again at their September 6 meeting. It appears there was some confusion on the funding of the position, as Mr. Finster said he was told by Mr. Piche to budget for the salary and not the benefits. Had he known that would hold the process up, he would have budgeted the entire amount in order to ensure the position was in place for this school year, he said. After discussion at yesterday's committee meeting, attended by both Mr. Finster and Sheriff Carpinelli, along with Board of Legislators Chairman Lawrence Dolhof, Mr. Piche, and committee members, the committee approved sending the proposal for the full board to consider at their October 2 meeting. Chairman Dolhof indicated that the County would pick up the fringe benefit cost for both South Lewis and Harrisville for this school year, but a permanent policy in the future may include any school district requesting an SRO to fund the full cost. If the board approves the plan on October 2, it would authorize the Sheriff's office to refill a road patrol position to accommodate moving an existing deputy to the SRO position. The SRO would be able to start in Harrisville as soon as that approval is received. The Sheriff's Office doesn't have the staff to start the SRO sooner, until they have the authorization to create a new position to backfill road patrol The Sheriff's office plans to use Sgt. Eric Schmitt, a Harrisville resident, as the SRO in the Harrisville district. Sgt. Schmidt served as the SRO at South Lewis last year. Lee Todeschini has taken over the duties at South Lewis this year. Both have been through the week-long SRO training provided by the State. Mr. Finster said the location of his district, at the extreme northern fringe of the county, makes a SRO a great fit due to the lengthy response times from agencies in the event of an emergency. Mr. Finster said the SRO will not only be a great addition in terms of safety, but will also play a key role in drug education for the district's students. The United States Department of Justice defines school resource officers as “sworn law enforcement officers responsible for safety and crime prevention in schools.” SROs are typically employed by a local police or sheriff's agency and work closely with administrators in an effort to create a safer environment for both students and staff. The responsibilities of SROs are similar to regular police officers in that they have the ability to make arrests, respond to calls for service, and document incidents. School resource officers typically have additional duties, including mentoring and conducting presentations on youth- related issues. |