Amended Security Proposal Would Keep Wayne PD In Middle, High Schools

WAYNE, NJ — Amid concerns about security in Wayne Township Public Schools next year, township officials and the Board of Education say they are working on an agreement to keep sworn police officers in all buildings.

The new agreement has not yet been finalized.

A number of residents spoke up at the April 3 board meeting to express their unease about the district's original plan to replace armed Wayne Police officers with private security officers next year, and urged board members to find a solution.

District leaders had announced that they had to fill a $7.1 million deficit in the budget for the 2025/2026 school year, which also required cutting dozens of staff positions and possibly moving to a pay-to-play model for athletics and extracurriculars.

Parent Jeffrey Dhuyvetter, who is an educator in the Passaic School District, told the board that the plan to eliminate School Resource Officers from five schools was "short-sighted, reckless, and deeply disappointing."

"Leave them in the building," he said. "Do what's right, because nothing — no budgets, no politics, no bureaucracy — is more important than the safety of our children."

At first, the Board of Education said they were canceling a shared services agreement with Wayne Township and the police department to cut costs. This would mean that School Resource Officers — the full-time police officers who are assigned to the district's two high schools and three middle schools — would be replaced by an in-house security program.

The current arrangement is estimated to cost the district about $1.2 million, with salaries increasing annually for the School Resource Officers (SROs). The contract was set to run until July of 2030, with both the board and the township paying 50 percent of the cost of salaries and benefits for those officers.

At the elementary schools and Preakness Early Childhood Center, Class III Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEOs) currently provide security. These are retired police officers, who only work during the school year, but are still employees of the Wayne Township Police Department.

Rachel Cooper, a township native whose son attends WTPS, said that moving to a private security force could jeopardize students' safety.

"These officers have built meaningful relationships with our children, playing a vital role in fostering trust and creating a safe place for them," she said.

"You're removing some of the finest in the state."

Board members (several of whom have children in the district) all took time to speak after the public comment portion.

"We have a vested interest here, so we would not compromise on the safety of our children," said trustee Harry Prassakos.

Board President Donald Pavlak, a retired police officer, also said the district would "never" compromise school security. He added the agreement with the township "is looking very positive" and asked any residents with concerns to email or call him.

"Unfortunately, when you're down $7 million and the perfect storm hits, it's going to have an impact, " he said. "And right now, we're working on the following year's budget to minimize any impact that's going to happen."

This board meeting was held several days after Mayor Chris Vergano and Councilman Michael Fattal (a former school board member) met with Pavlak and three other board members to discuss cost-saving measures.

Under an amended agreement that they worked out, the township would take on the full cost to keep SROs at Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley. At the middle schools, the School Resource Officers would be replaced by Class III SLEOs.

The board would also continue to pay 50 percent of the salary for the Detective Sergeant who oversees the SROs and SLEOs, and the township would reduce the cost of operational fees for 2024 and 2025, under that proposal.

That meeting was on March 30. Vergano then sent a letter to Pavlak outlining the amended proposal. The estimated cost savings for the board under this proposal would be $244,372, according to Vergano's letter, which he later shared on social media.

The board did not vote on this proposal at the April 3 meeting, which Vergano — a former school board member himself — told TAPinto Wayne he was surprised by.

Pavlak, in turn, told the outlet that Vergano "compromised the trust built between the Board and the Township" by sharing details of the March 30 discussion with members of the media. He later said that board members did not want to vote on the proposal prematurely and that an official deal has not been reached, per northjersey.com.

“To ensure transparency and accountability, a formal vote will be held once the agreement is finalized," Pavlak said last Friday.

As a note, Vergano (a Republican) is running for re-election this November, and Pavlak is the Wayne Democratic Club's chosen candidate to run against him. Another Democrat, attorney James Freeswick, will vie for the nomination in June's primary election.

The next regularly-scheduled BOE meeting is on Thursday, April 17; a final vote and public hearing on the budget are expected for May 1.