The Onteora school board voted last week to renew a contract with the Ulster County sheriff’s office for the 2020-21 school year to have a school resource officer at a cost of $97,018.20. The vote at the board’s August 18 workshop meeting was almost unanimous, with trustee Dafne DeJesus abstaining to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest because she is a county employee.
The board and administration assume deputy Tom Sharon will return, though he can be reassigned since he is employed by the sheriff’s office and not of the school district. “I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about our current SRO,” said board president Laurie Osmond.
School board student representative Leon Savage urged the board to retain the SRO, despite calls in other districts to do away with the position. “We consider the current SRO to be a model officer,” said Savage. “Myself speaking personally, I actually love Deputy Sharon and everything he does.”
Other school districts are having issues with their SROs misusing their authority. While that doesn’t appear to be the case with Sharon, Savage suggested a process where the SRO is evaluated annually.
Superintendent Victoria McLaren said she’d be happy to set up a meeting with Sharon’s supervisor. The sheriff’s office is one of many vendors that serve the district. Its contract could be reviewed like other contracts are on a regular basis, she said.
Trustee Bennet Ratcliff questioned, given the extraordinary circumstances, whether an SRO was needed for the entire school year and whether the district could save some money. But he had nothing against Sharon. “I want to say the existing SRO is an amazing person,” Ratcliff said.
He asked whether it was necessary to pay for the entire year for the SRO. “We do that for other vendors. We should consider doing that here I’m talking about trying to save some money.”
McLaren said her office explored that option when schools closed in the spring. “I don’t know how to not tie this particular position to the person,” she explained. “This person had a lot to do with the closure and went on home visits, making sure students were okay and parents were okay. I would advocate this position is very integral to our community even during a closure.”
Trustees expressed concern about the ability to retain Sharon and not have him replaced with another deputy. Sharon requested to stay on as Onteora SRO, but could be reassigned by the sheriff’s office.
“If there was a change in the county structure, and it was determined they were going to switch him out, do we have control over that?” asked board vice-president Rob Kurnit.
“Informally we do. If we were to be dissatisfied with the person they replace him with, we could cancel the contract,” McLaren replied.
The contract calls for the SRO to “work cooperatively with district staff to address crime and disorder problems, gangs, drug activities affecting or occurring in or around our elementary or secondary schools, and other issues that jeopardize the safety of students, staff and visitors.” The SRO is also expected to build working relationships with staff, students and parent groups and be a positive role model.
At the regular board meeting in July, some female graduates had called for the elimination of the SRO position. They contended it contributed to the school-to-prison pipeline and created an unsafe environment for students of color. They argued the money would be better spent on anti-racism programs and making sure minority students had a voice.
The approved amount, which covers Deputy Sharon’s salary and benefits, will be paid in three installments of $32,339.40. Deputy Sharon’s time is split among the Woodstock, Phoenicia and Bennett elementary schools and the middle and high school.
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