Central, Town Agree To Put Full-Time Officer In High School

LONG VALLEY, N.J. – A large-scale shared service agreement between the West Morris Regional Board of Education and Washington Township Committee was agreed upon this week, which will place a full-time senior resource officer inside West Morris Central High School.

That senior resource officer will be a Washington Township Policeman in full uniform patrolling the halls from the opening bell until after students leave for the day beginning September 1 of this year.

Both governing bodies agreed to the measure Monday night at their respective meetings.

While the officer is still an employee of the township, his or her (the officer has not yet been identified) salary will consist of a $60,000 payment from the school board to the township, being paid in $15,000 quarterly installments. In addition, the township will be hiring a new full-time officer to join the police force, Administrator Andrew Coppola said.

The township will pay for the officer’s non-salary benefits, including liability insurance, worker’s compensation insurance, disability insurance, payroll, medical benefits, pension, unemployment, social security, withholding, any and all other expenses related to employee compensation or benefits; and the training, hiring, firing and discipline of police personnel and staff, including all incidental expenses, according to the approved resolution.

In December of 2015, the district had security expert Patrick Doyle come in and assess security protocol West Morris Central and West Morris Mendham, which confirmed Superintendent Michael Ben-David’s assumption that a District Security Manager should be employed to oversee both school campuses.

In doing so, both schools would need equivalent, on-site security measures. West Morris Mendham has employed a Senior Resource Officer from the Mendham Borough Police Department for about a decade, and Ben-David said the same would be done at Central.

“When I came in and looked at the organizational structure,” Ben-David said, “I could see more needed to be done in terms of security. We needed to do better, and now we’ve refined operations, targeted issues and are bringing security measures up-to-date.

“I found a great partner in (Washington Township Police) Chief Jeff Almer, who felt the same why I did, and we worked to get this done,” Ben-David continued. “This is a great partnership for the school, for the town, and most importantly for the students.”

The officer’s duties are vast while on Central’s campus. Per the agreement, he or she will:

• The officer shall provide traffic assistance, security, and surveillance of the areas assigned, note and report irregularities, dangerous practices, and conditions, accidents, fires and other acts or circumstances, requiring police or other action, which affect the health and welfare of the students and school personnel.
• The officer will abide by school board policies and shall consult with and coordinate activities through the school principal but shall remain fully responsive to the chain of command of the Washington Township Police Department in all matters relating to employment and supervision.
• The officer will refrain completely from functioning as a school disciplinarian.
• The SRO is not to be involved in the enforcement of disciplinary infractions that do not constitute violations of the law.
• The officer shall take necessary actions as to trespassers, suspicious persons and conditions and report significant acts, occurrences and conditions.
• The officer shall conduct investigations of criminal or delinquent activity according to established police department policy and procedures, and enforce the laws of the State of New Jersey when necessary.
• The officer may be assigned to investigate by his immediate supervisors and with the knowledge of the school principal, offenses occurring off of school property, provided such investigations relate to students attending the school in which the officer is assigned.
• The officer shall warn, detain, cite and/or take into custody violators of the law when necessary.
• The officer will complete timely reports as required by the Washington Township Police Policy and Procedures.
• The officer shall enforce traffic and parking laws and regulations on school property.
• The officer will develop pro-active programs and make recommendations to protect school and personal property from damage and theft.
• The officer will assist with organizing emergency procedures for lock downs, fire drills, bomb scares and all other school evacuations.
• The officer may assist in truancy investigations. Such investigations that require police assistance off school property will not generally be handled by the SRO. The patrol division shall conduct the preliminary investigation in those instances.
• The officer shall advise the principal on matters dealing with enforcement of custody orders or Domestic Violence Restraining Orders.
• The officer shall coordinate the sharing of delinquency information between the schools and the police department pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-60.
• The officer shall coordinate his activities with the principal and staff.
• Upon request the officer will attend faculty meetings.
• Upon request the officer shall attend conferences between the school personnel and parents regarding either individual students or general security concerns.
• The officer will at all times serve as a role model to students by demonstrating appropriate attitudes, behavior and respect.
• The officer will be a liaison between students and social agencies which provide needed services.
• Upon request the officer will assist administration and faculty in formulating criminal justice programs. Upon request the officer will assist faculty in the classroom.
• The officer will answer questions that students may have about criminal or juvenile law.
• On a regular basis, notwithstanding any of the duties described above and barring unforeseen incidents or emergencies, the School Resource Officer (SRO) will work on all days school is in session from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to as follows:
• The SRO will assist with the school entrance procedures, directing traffic, as well as patrol the school hallways, bathrooms, parking lots and school grounds between 7:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
• The SRO shall, after directing traffic, check in with school officials to be updated on any recent events or concerns.
• The SRO will monitor lunch periods between 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
• The SRO will return to the school at 1:30 p.m. and will patrol the school hallways, bathrooms, parking lots, and grounds until 3:15 p.m.

The District Security Manager position that will oversee both schools has been created, but not fulfilled yet. Ben-David said someone will be in place before the start of the 2016-2017 school year. According to Almer, the announcement will be made this week as to which current officer will be named to the SRO position at Central.