VOORHEESVILLE — After months of discussion, two public forums, and an online survey of parents, students, and community members of the Voorheesville Central School District, Superintendent Brian Hunt at September’s school board meeting recommended, and the board approved, by a vote of 6 to 1, a school resource officer for the 2018-19 school year.

Hunt said because of duty assignments, Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Danielle Vanderveer would not start as Voorheesville’s school resource officer until Tuesday, Sept. 25.

The district will pay the sheriff’s office $53,815 for Vanderveer’s services this year, a prorated sum; the contract between the school district and sheriff’s office stipulates a $57,000 salary.

Voorheesville is able to pay the salary because of two late-in-the-year retirements, in 2017-18.

The agreement is a one-year contract, and is subject to annual approval.

Locally, the Bethlehem Central School District has three school resource officers, members of the Bethlehem Police Department; the Guilderland Central School District has one officer, a member of the Guilderland Police Department. And, just this year, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school districts began paying the sheriff for in-school officers; RCS also has a school resource officer from a local police department, according to VCSD.

The school resource officer is a 10-month position, according to the district; Vanderveer will split her time between the elementary school and the secondary school. Regular working hours will be from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.; however, hours can be made flexible to accommodate after-school, or weekend, events.

According to the district, the school resource officer is not to be involved in routine school disciplinary matters, and will only be involved in matters that involve criminal conduct. The officer, according to the district, will have informal contact with students in the hallways and cafeteria, and may also become involved in classroom lessons. The school resource officer will not make arrests unless it is an emergency situation.

Trustee Michael Canfora asked, if the officer works more than the agreed-upon 40-hour week, who pays? Hunt told him that anything related to after-the-fact expenses would be paid by the sheriff’s office. “She is paid to be here for the hours she is paid to be here; anything after the fact is on the sheriff,” Hunt said.

The agreement between the district and sheriff’s office also says: “The SRO may work additional hours by mutual agreement, with VCSD paying the hourly rate of $35.00 for such additional hours.”

Robert Samson cast the sole dissenting vote. He had expressed reticence before the vote.

“At this point, I see a lot of issues in the future – I’m just not quite there yet,” he said.

Samson said that the survey had been one-sided — in favor of an officer — but what he had heard in the community belied that opinion. At the August meeting, Doreen Saia, the board’s president, said there had been an effort to influence the survey’s results.

Trustee Diana Straut asked at this week’s meeting what options the district has to evaluate the program overall, apart from the person in the position. “If we want to know, ‘Did this work or not work,’ what can we do?” Straut asked.

There are three criteria, Hunt told her, by which the program will be evaluated:

— If any criminal or emergency situations arise during the year, and how they
are handled;

— The quality of the relationships built by the school resource officer with students, staff, parents, and community members; and

— The problems or issues that the officer helps to resolve or diffuse.

Saia asked that there be some kind of documentation that tracks the program, adding that it is not a money issue; however, as the board moves into next year’s budget, she said, the position could come up as part of the discussion as other things may become money issues.

Signals coming from the state, she said, do not portend well for future budgets, and, small districts like Voorheesville, that are seen as affluent, will be hardest hit.

Hunt told her that the three criteria could be documented.

Saia also pointed out that either side has the right to cancel the agreement with or without cause, and wanted to know if the district is able recoup any of its payment if the agreement is canceled.

The district is paying the sheriff $53,815 up front, Saia said, and asked: If the agreement is canceled, is the payment prorated — or is the district out $53,815?

Hunt had thought that the payment would prorated, but nowhere in the contract is that stated. Saia asked that the contract be amended to include that language.