Cops Eliminated From 3 NJ Schools Following Admin Injuries, Supt. Says

PENNSAUKEN, NJ - Uniformed police officers will no longer be present in three Pennsauken-area schools following instances of alleged police officer negligence and resulting injuries sustained by school staff, a school district official told Patch.

Effective Jan. 1, 2023, school resource police officers will be absent in Pennsauken High School, Phifer Middle School and Burling Alternative High School, Pennsauken police said in a Tuesday statement.

“Although we are not pleased to make this announcement, we believe the public must be informed and aware of this decision made by the BOE [board of education],” the Pennsauken Police Department said in a Tuesday statement.

However, while police say the change stems from unsuccessful negotiations between the police department, local government and the board of education over a renewed shared services agreement (which regulates the presence of uniformed officers in Pennsauken schools), district superintendent Dr. Ronnie Tarchichi told Patch the police department refused to replace problematic officers in schools, even after multiple teachers and administrators complained.

"They terminated the contract,” Tarchichi told Patch. “We tried to work out a system with the township ... we wanted them in the schools."

In one instance, a school resource officer refused to break up a fight that involved an administrator, Tarchichi said. After the administrator broke up the fight, they required dental surgery, he said, adding that another administrator injured their back.

"We begged them to send us another person and they refused,” the superintendent said.

The district's top administrator also alleges the police department overcharged the district for three officers who weren’t actually working full time.

"We've been in constant communication with them," Tarchichi said. "If an officer does something that's not right in the building ... I have every right to say we do not want this person back."

Tarchichi said the district will be putting out a statement to community members on Wednesday; the district’s lawyer has also been tapped to resolve the issue.

However, until the dispute is resolved, the school’s security is in the hands of armed civilian security guards without police training or police powers, Pennsauken police said in a statement.

“Without this agreement, the responsibility for the day-to-day security in our public schools rests solely with the BOE, not the Pennsauken Police Department,” the department said.