Some SSCSD Trustees have been deceptive towards the public regarding their stance on School Resource Officers.
On January 10th, the Saratoga Springs Board of Education narrowly adopted a resolution to expand its school resource officer program, despite recommendations from the district's school safety expert, NYSIR, to add two SROs to cover its elementary schools. The resolution passed with a vote of 5-4, surprising many, as four members of the board who had pledged to support the program during their campaign(s) opposed its expansion. It's truly disheartening to see four SSCSD school board trustee’s get caught lying about their support for school resource officers (SROs). Tony Krackeler, Anjie Emeka, John Brueggemann and Natalya Lakhtakia all publicly claimed to support the presence of SROs in schools, yet when push came to shove, they were nowhere to be found when it came time to actually fund and implement such programs.
The truth is, SROs are a vital component in keeping our schools safe. Studies have shown that schools with SROs are far less likely to be targeted by mass shooters than those without them. Furthermore, SROs are not just armed guards, they are highly trained law enforcement officers who are equipped to handle a wide range of situations, from dealing with active shooters, to providing counseling and support to students in crisis.
It is a well-established fact that school shootings have been on the rise in recent years, and it's crucial that we take proactive measures to prevent them. Having SROs in schools is one such measure. They can help deter potential shooters and respond quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency.
But the benefits of SROs extend beyond just preventing mass shootings. They can also serve as positive role models and mentors for students, and provide support to students and staff dealing with a wide range of issues, such as mental health concerns and bullying.
Moreover, SROs can help build trust and positive relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, which can be particularly important in communities that have historically had a strained relationship with police.
It's truly shameful that some politicians would play politics with the safety of our children and that some school board trustees would lie about their support for School Resource Officers. It's time for politicians to stop using the issue of school safety as a political football and start taking real action to protect our children.
The truth is that the safety and well-being of our children should always be our top priority. And when it comes to protecting our schools, there is simply no substitute for the presence of trained and qualified SROs. It's time for our leaders to put the safety of our children above their personal politics and do what is right.
We deserve leaders who will actually take action to protect our schools, not just pay lip service to the issue for political gain. It's time to put the safety of our children above all else and ensure that every school has the resources and support it needs to keep students safe and secure.
The issue of school safety has been prominent in the SSCSD since 2018 when at that time the Board of Trustees voted to disarm the active and retired police officers working security in our schools. A practice that had been going on for 30+ years prior. For our readers, we have put together a timeline of events and public statements made by the four lying trustees from 2018 until the present.
Timeline:
2018: Brueggeman LTE - "If the updated comprehensive security assessment drawing from analytical evidence and broad expertise indicates that more armed personnel is the best way to make our kids safer, we should spend the necessary money on School Resource Officers. I for one would happily pay more taxes if rational (non-ideological and non-self-interested)
analysis points that way."
2018: BOE Meeting School Safety Forum - The New York State Insurance Reciprocal, the districts school safety expert recommends the district add one School Resource Officer to cover the districts Middle school.
2019: BOE Meeting - SSCSD Trustees unanimously vote to add an additional SRO to the district. Emeka and Ellis, both SSCSD Trustees at the time of the vote.
2019: Brueggeman Saratogian - "I do support having SROs in the schools. Somebody asked me the other day ‘Guns or no guns?” and I said “Some guns."
2019: Bruegemann Website - "I take comfort in the fact that our protocols are aligned with the recommendations of New York State Schools Insurance Reciprocal, which insures some half of the schools in the state. It is their considered view that Grounds Monitors should not be re-armed. That is a stance also shared by the National Association of School Resource Officers, which holds that only “active, sworn law enforcement officers” can be armed in schools. To merit this authorization, moreover, NASRO recommends that such personnel undergo high-level, ongoing training related to the distinctive challenges of working with young people, special education, mental illness, communication, and the physical and psychological demands of active, tactical situations. To arm others, NYSIR and NASRO contend, is a risk not worth taking, a view also endorsed by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, by the way."
2019: Natalya Lakhtakia WAMC - "Candidate Natalya Lakhtakia supported the addition of a second SRO. A speech language pathologist who works with children, she does not want to re-arm grounds monitors."
2019: Natalya Lakhtakia Saratoga Springs Politics - "I understand why NYSIR recommended adding a second SRO from the Sheriff’s department to cover the three schools outside of the city’s jurisdiction and I support both SROs and the work they do."
2019: Natalya Lakhtakia Saratogian - "She supports the New York Insurance Reciprocal risk analysis for the school district, saying “I’m a data person. I follow evidence. I was raised by two scientists.”
2020: Tony Krackeler Facebook - "I’m all for the school resource officer program run by the sheriff’s office and the city PD. But I think those folks are the only ones who should carry in schools."
7.28.22: Emeka BOE Meeting - "I would like to wait until the NYSIR audit. Last time the result was that with the two we were fully covered. We have an October date on the evaluation of our district safety status and what we can do to strengthen it. Last time they gave us great ideas that were easily executable, the amount of ideas in this report are invaluable which is why I recommended it."
8.25.22: Krackeler BOE Meeting - “NYSIR performs a soup to nuts analysis on all safety needs for the district.” “It is safe to say given our unallocated fund balance that in the strictest sense of the word that we have the ability to pay for SRO.” I can’t weigh in on the SRO piece without the greater context [of the NYSIR safety audit.]”
8.25.22: Brueggemann BOE Meeting - “SRO’s are an incredibly valuable part of the overall safety system. Safety first, SRO’s are part of the system. NYSIR has this expertise because they look at so many school districts so they do this comprehensive assessment and they make a bunch of recommendations. I personally think we have to wait until the NYSIR recommendation to make a decision about SRO.”
8.25.22: Emeka BOE Meeting – “NYSIR comes with this long list of recommendations and its up to Dave L’Hommedieu and his team to come up with what we can do within our budget. Last time, NYSIR recommended another SRO and I voted for it. They said our SRO was too spread out. I know I’m a broken record about NYSIR but this is this entire picture and then we see what all the things are that we can do to make our school safer.”
9.29.22: BOE Meeting – Wilton Town Board offers school district a FREE SRO for five years in what amounts to a 500k gift to the school district. Board Trustee Ellithorpe offers a motion to accept the town’s proposal. Motion Fails 5-4, Emeka, Brueggemann, Lakhtakia, Krackeler, Ellis vote against motion to add a free SRO from the town of Wilton.
9.29.22: Emeka BOE Meeting - In response to motion accepting Town of Wilton SRO offer: “That’s a district decision, the administration has to come to us with personnel issues.”
9.29.22: Emeka BOE Meeting - "There is nobody here that has said that we do not want to talk about SRO's. What we said is that we want to wait until we are evaluated by NYSIR. I am more than willing to talk about SRO's and our safety plan in our schools but its wildly inappropriate for other governing bodies to come and speak to this governing body, throwing money at us and trying to force us to make a decision that we are not prepared to make. It is not the correct way to do business. They should be meeting with Superintendent Mike Patton and Mike makes recommendations to the board. My mind is open. I am listening to what people have to say, I want to hear from the people who evaluate our district and then I can have an informed conversation."
9.29.22: Bruegemann BOE Meeting - "I care about insurance, I care about liability, I care about our fiduciary responsibility relative to taxpayers but I also care about safety and NYSIR is the most sophisticated expert that assesses us with detachment. And when they were here last time they made a whole series of recommendations, we adopted many of those recommendations and everybody who is on this board now who was on the board then received NYSIR's recommendation to add an SRO and voted yes. My mind is not settled, we are hearing a lot of different views from our neighbors, there is a lot of strong feelings there is a lot of logical arguments being made and we are still talking about it. But my position is that I am not inclined to take any action until after that audit."
12.1.22: BOE Meeting School Safety Forum – New York State Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR) submits school safety recommendations to the SSCSD Board of Education. Their recommendations included adding 2 School Resource Officers to the district. NYSIR recommendation is supported by District Superintendent Michael Patton.
1.10.23: BOE Meeting – Superintendent Michael Patton recommends the board approve a Memorandum of Understanding between the SSPD/Saratoga County Sheriffs Department to add two school resource officers to cover district elementary schools. The motion passes 5-4 with Emeka, Krackeler, Lakhtakia and Brueggemann voting against the motion to add 2 SRO to the SSCSD.
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