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Dunkirk School District Still Wants Resource Officer

DUNKIRK — Conversations about the need for a school resource officer continue at Dunkirk City Schools, according to officials.

At a recent school board workshop, Superintendent James Tracy told board members that no one is giving up on the idea of a school resource officer once again walking the hallways. But, officials are trying to think creatively to come up with a solution that will put kids’ safety first, while not breaking the bank.

The short history is that the school district loved and appreciated its SRO relationships with the Dunkirk Police Department, but — largely because NRG PILOT funding has decreased — the cost eventually became too great. Now officials are trying to think of other solutions, including employing their own version of an SRO.

“One of the things that we’re trying to do is create a position, (and) we have a tentative job description that we created,” Tracy said. “What we’re trying to do is make sure it’s an individual that’s employed by us, under our jurisdiction, so we can pretty much dictate what their job description is — what they do, what their duties are — and also set their salary, their assignments and their schedules.”

Tracy explained that it was very important for the SRO to move around from building to building. That helps the person foster relationships and develop a rapport with students, maintain order, and keep anyone with nefarious intentions from knowing where the officer will be and when.

Tracy sees many benefits to employing an “in-house” SRO.

“Financially we’re looking at a savings if we (go) in this direction that we’re looking at; also we’re looking at, again, more control, so we can have him or her go to a variety of buildings,” he said.

Tracy said he wants an SRO who is not only a bringer of order and calm, but someone whom the students and faculty can rely on for safety knowledge.

“One of the things we’d also like to make sure of is that they’re actively involved with the students, as a role model, but also in relation to teaching some of the things we want them to teach, like dangerous strangers down at the lower level, to drug awareness and making the right choices,” he said.

“Also helping teachers with security and also being part of our SAT teams, when we’re looking at individuals and their needs and their discipline, and what can this person do to help us with this.”

Tracy also said that sometimes, school representatives have to conduct “precarious” home visits, and an SRO is much appreciated during those situations.

Tracy praised the Dunkirk Police Department at the workshop, saying that the school is grateful for the hard work and dependability of the officers. If the school does end up hiring its own SRO, Tracy said, school officials and the SRO him- or herself will continue to work in conjunction with the Dunkirk Police to create the safest possible learning environment for students.

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