By James Lomuscio
Town, school and police officials tonight lost their final bid at the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) to hire two school resource officers (SROs) at the middle schools this fall.
After more than three hours of back and forth and some RTM members saying they were torn over which way to vote, the legislative body failed by four votes to reach a 70 percent supermajority to overturn the recent Board of Finance denial.
The RTM voted 19 to 13 with 1 abstention in favor of an $185,000 appropriation to hire the SROs via the Police Department’s overtime account.
The vote was a blow to town and school officials, who had spent many months advocating for the stepped up security measures.
The request made by First Selectman Jim Marpe and recommended by Schools Superintendent Colleen Palmer, Police Chief Foti Koskinas, and Board of Education Chairman Mark Mathias had been denied by the finance board three times.
Each time before the Board of Finance, proponents had lowered the request amount, and with the most recent denial Sept. 13 they had pinned hopes that the RTM would override the finance board. Tonight, they had no such luck.
“They actually provide an additional form of safety we have not had before, ands opportunity to diffuse a problem before it happens,” said Mathias.
“We need to do it sooner rather than later,” he added. “Nearly half of the state’s school districts have SROs. They are tested tools.”
For more than a year Palmer has pushed for SROs, calling them a “24/7 safety net” and that they ensure “the well-being of our schools and the staff and the students within.”
“It has been a long journey,” Palmer said. “As I arrived in the district, one of the first things I said to the police chief is why doesn’t this district have school resources officers?”
Her recommendation gained traction in February after police responded to a student’s report of an overheard threat made Staples High School student who said he wanted to kill a teacher and go on a shooting spree.
The student’s father had weapons used in other school shooting locked in a safe at home.
Palmer, who is currently grappling with a serious mold problem at Coleytown Middle School, which last week was shut down, its students transferred to Staples and Bedford Middle School to finish out the year, acknowledged the district’s fiscal challenges ahead, perhaps an overhauled school building.
“What good is a new school if a child does not come home safely?” she asked the RTM.
Currently, Staples is the district’s only school with an SRO who came on board this year, his salary funded by a DARE officer’s position which had been phased out.
A number of RTM members spoke in favor of the appropriation, saying that response time was critical in the event of tan active shooter.
“They provide an insurance policy in case something happens,” said Lauren Karpf. “I’m not so confident it’s a one in a million chance.”
She said having an SRO on site to respond quickly when seconds can cost lives was better than waiting 15 minutes for police cars to arrive.
“We’re stewards of our children in our community,” said Lisa Parrelli Gary, who voted for the appropriation. “There are a lot of positives of having a police officer in the school. I see it as an investment in community.”
RTM member Carla Rea said the response time of an SRO “is going to save a lot of lives.”
“To me this is just a judgment call of common sense,” Rea said. “It’s been done before.”
Others, however, expressed concerns about the overall need, future funding that could amount to $10 to $20 million over a 20-year period if more SROs were added and being uncomfortable with having guns in school.
Some even worried that minor adolescent transgressions could become criminal matters in the presence of an officer.
Koskinas and an SRO from Ridgefield countered that teen arrests actually decreased with SROs who managed to forge outreach, build trust and use discretion with troubled students.
Kristin Schneeman, who represents District 9, said that when it came to SROs, proponents had “created a superhero image of this person,” and that she was not convinced the effectiveness.” She also said she was concerned about “the unintended consequences, the accidental discharges of weapons.”
RTM member Amy Kaplan of District 3 said that among her constituents “opinions are evenly split.”
“For me, that’s a good argument to slow down,” she said. “No brainer? I don’t agree. This is complicated.”
Senior RTM member Jack Klinge, who represents District 7, said at the outset that he would vote no.
“It’s not a vote against the budget process; it’s a vote against moving too quickly,” he said.
Klinge said he wanted to see how the SRO new to Staples this fall works out, “getting feedback from students and faculty.”
“I want to make sure they have the skill and expertise before I put them in a school with 12-year-olds,” Klinge said.
Nicole Klein of District 5 said she would vote yes, adding that SROs were not the end all, but “a piece of the security puzzle.”
One member of the public who spoke in favor of the appropriation was Staples senior Arthur Shapiro. He said he was initially skeptical about having a police officer on campus, but that his opinion changed.
“It is our duty to provide Westport students with a sense of security,” he said.
Due to the lengthy debate on the item, the RTM failed to complete its agenda, and Moderator Velma Heller said there would be a special session on Tuesday, Oct. 16 to do so.
