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Grand Island Board of Education: Part-time SRO approved

Sat, Dec 16th 2017 07:00 am
By Larry Austin
Island Dispatch Editor
The Grand Island Board of Education voted to approve an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Grand Island to reinstitute a school resource officer position in the school district.
The board voted 5-1, with Vice President Donna Tomkins voting "No" and President Lisa Pyc abstaining, to approve the agreement to hire part-time school resource officers through the Town of Grand Island Police Department.
During the public comment period, the board heard from Robert Christmann, the former superintendent of schools, who advocated for a return to the full-time SRO.
The board did not hear from its president, Lisa Pyc, whose husband, New York State Trooper Chris Pyc, was the SRO the last time the district filled the position. She recused herself from the discussion.
Christmann criticized the possibility of a part-time system that would rotate "whoever's available into the school from the Grand Island Police Department. No SRO program could be made more ineffective than by using this system. He said a full-time SRO would provide greater continuity of information at work.
Councilman Mike Madigan, who preferred the part-time system, said his "biggest concern" is what will happen when the state grant money used to fund the SRO this year runs out in 12 months.
"The plan being adopted is the most cost-effective making it more likely to be sustained long term," Madigan said.

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