SRCS Fearing Loss Of State Police Officer

FORT COVINGTON - With no local police forces nearby, the superintendent at Salmon River Central School predicts the loss of a state police school resource officer will have an adverse impact on their campus.

"At Salmon River we're miles away from the state police barracks and sheriff's department, and the sheriff's department is understaffed. Our communities, Westville, Fort Covington and Bombay, do not have local police forces," Jane Collins said Thursday.

"We are lucky that on the reservation where the St. Regis Mohawk School is, the tribal police can respond to calls there. But they have no policing authority off the reservation. For Salmon River, my K-12 campus, I am at a loss. We'll be at a loss," she said.

If a measure in Gov. David A. Paterson's proposed budget is accepted by the state Legislature, state troopers will no longer be accessible to students in the St. Lawrence Central, Norwood-Norfolk or Parishville-Hopkinton school districts in St. Lawrence County, and Salmon River, St. Regis Falls and Brushton-Moira in Franklin County.

Lt. Glen R. Miner, state police spokesman in Albany, said that under the proposal 90 troopers in the state will be reassigned to their more traditional roles as police officers. He added that this will help offset the annual average loss of 125 troopers through attrition.

He said the Division of State Police has not held a training class during the current year, and will not hold any during the 2010-11 fiscal year because of the state's fiscal crisis.

Because they won't be recruiting new members to replace those who leave, Lt. Miner said the New York State Police force will be approximately 269 positions lower by April 2011 compared to April 2009.

As a result, members will be redeployed to the highest priority assignments with the greatest impact on public safety. That plan includes the withdrawal of 90 school resources officers at the close of the school year.

Ms. Collins said that will have an adverse impact on Salmon River Central School, where Trooper Bridget Lavigne has been the school resource officer.

"At all of our schools, safety is our number one priority. From my end, no one's asked me. Right here at Salmon River I really need my officer. We have no resources. It means we would have to call the state police and then wait. It's not a good situation, and it's not what is fair and equitable to rural schools," Ms. Collins said.

"Somebody's not looking at this situation carefully enough to understand the impact behind that decision. I understand that the state is in really tough times. However, when you run a school system, the first thing you need is to have a safe school environment before you can do anything else."

Ms. Collins said that over the years their SRO has established a good rapport with the students and staff.

"Bridget has developed a long-standing relationship here with all of the children in our community. She is respected by staff and students and just her presence makes a big difference with the whole state police department. She has cultivated a relationship here that's not threatening, but is still very effective," she said.

"We have a great community here, a great school, but every day we work hard to make it that way," the superintendent added.

Ms. Collins said she has talked with their elected representatives and "they understand that this is a significant impact for our school community. I'll continue to send that message to them."

Ms. Collins said she and the board of education would also be contacting Gov. Paterson about their situation.

St. Lawrence Central School also stands to lose their SRO, Trooper Clinton Johnson, who has been with the district for the past several years.

"They've been on the chopping block the last two or three years. We would definitely feel a loss," Superintendent Stephen M. Putman said.

He said Trooper Johnson goes into classrooms, and "helps with an occasional case if a student gets violent or threatening."

"I've involved him in cases of students with illegal drugs, but there is a real positive side to it too. I think without that, students don't get the opportunity see a law enforcement person as a friend or an ally or a resource. There's a tendency I think for teenagers, when they see a police officer, to get paranoid, as opposed to a resource that can help you," Mr. Putman said.

As with the Salmon River Central School District, he said the efforts of the state police officer would be missed.

"There's a lot of things he does that help provide a safe and secure environment. There are also opportunities for learning for students in a lot of ways, both in the classroom and in personal interactions," Mr. Putman said.

Another state police school resource officer is shared between the Norwood-Norfolk and Parishville-Hopkinton school districts, where Norwood-Norfolk Superintendent Elizabeth A. Kirnie said he has played a valuable role.

"There is a lot of preventive education, a lot having to do with cyberpredators and cyberbullying," she said. "It's important that he develops relationships with young people who then get to trust and respect law enforcement authority, which is very important."

Mrs. Kirnie said that, while they have a "very capable staff" that can intervene with problems, their SRO is also available to intervene if necessary.

"From time to time there will be a situation that requires law enforcement," she said.

Should they lose their trooper, Mrs. Kirnie said they would likely have to make alternate arrangements with local law enforcement agencies. She noted that when there was a previous possibility of losing their SRO, other agencies "did offer to step in and provide some programming and be sort of an on-call presence."

But, she said, "It doesn't replace the school resource officer who is a known fixture in the building."