Should an armed school resource officer patrol the halls at Cobleskill-Richmondville High School?
Maybe.
School board President Bruce Tryon expects a wide-ranging discussion about an SRO––pro and con––at the next board meeting February 13.
That session follows a January 23 meeting where Bruce Baker, undersheriff with the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office, explained that SROs build strong relationships with students and keep schools safe.
Considering school safety to be paramount, Mr. Tryon doesn’t want the issue to rest.
“It is a worthy discussion,” he said. “We have to get it out in the open and talk about.”
Mr. Tryon knows board members’ opinions are mixed, especially about an SRO carrying a gun.
“I see both sides, but I’m hesitant about anyone carrying a gun in school,” Mr. Tryon said, though he noted Undersheriff Baker’s statement that SROs are highly-trained officers.
However, he also recognizes that SROs are beneficial––in neighboring Schoharie and other nearby districts. (See related story.)
Hiring an SRO from the Sheriff’s Office is a school board decision, but if asked for an opinion, C-R Superintendent Matt Sickles would recommend it.
Before taking the C-R post last summer, Mr. Sickles was superintendent at Mid Lakes, a school district similar in size to C-R and also in a rural community.
Mid Lakes had an SRO before Mr. Sickles arrived, and the system was successful.
“Kids who had every reason to distrust police developed a positive relationship with the SRO,” he said.
And in light of school shootings around the country, “families and students felt better about having an SRO in school,” Mr. Sickles added.
Before Mid Lakes, Mr. Sickles was an administrator at Shenendahowa, and his SRO experience was similar.
“He was arm-in-arm with the kids and gave parents peace of mind,” Mr. Sickles said, supporting what Undersheriff Baker told the school board in January.
High school Principal Brett Barr said he was intrigued by the idea, adding that having a police officer in school isn’t foreign. State Police troopers, Sheriff’s deputies and Probation officers make scheduled stops at the high school.
Having an officer with a gun in school raises concerns, Mr. Barr said, but “if it makes the school more safe and secure, I’m in favor of it.”
Mr. Barr wanted more information about an SRO, as did Marc Weiss, president of the Cobleskill-Richmondville Teachers’ Association.
Not having talked about an SRO with the union’s 200 members, Mr. Weiss wouldn’t give an opinion.
“It’s very early in the process,” he said. “We want to get more information and gather our thoughts.”
Mr. Tryon wants board members to gather their thoughts, too, and he plans to poll each of the other six members at the February 13 meeting.
“We have a goal of the decision coming soon,” he said.
An open discussion is what Mr. Sickles expects as well.
“I understand divergent opinions,” he said. “We owe it to students and families to engage in this conversation.”