One SRO hasn’t been given the go
March 21, 2024 at 12:40 a.m.
The Port Chester School District’s newly established School Resource Officer (SRO) program has enabled a rare experience that sees the active partnership among multiple jurisdictions: the district and the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook.
Because the Port Chester School District has buildings located in both municipalities, when last school year’s discussions about incorporating an SRO program arose, it required the support of both villages’ police departments—a backing that was received without hesitation.
After several months of deliberation, at Board of Education meetings and amid an established SRO committee, a program plan was created, which the school board adopted at their Jan. 18 meeting. In the program’s design, and per municipal boundaries, an SRO affiliated with the Rye Brook police is assigned to cover the middle and high schools, while a Port Chester officer splits his time among the four elementary schools.
Officer Orelvis Lazala of the Rye Brook police started duty a few weeks after the program’s approval on Feb. 12 after spending a week meeting with teachers and staff, according to Rye Brook Police Chief Greg Austin.
“Our students have really taken a liking to Officer Lazala,” Superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez said. “He’s really worked on becoming a trusted adult, actively engaging with the community, students and staff. There’s been integration with the SRO in safety plans and operations, he was here for the lockdown at the middle school, and he’s been highly visible in deescalating matters. It’s been nothing but positive.”
The lockdown was a reference to a threat toward Port Chester Middle School that the Rye Brook police received on Feb. 28. Though it was ultimately deemed unwarranted, the district took precautions by issuing a lockdown at the school and lockouts at other campuses while the investigation ensued.
Lazala has been walking the halls for over a month; however, the same cannot be said for the Port Chester Police Department’s Officer Moises Ochoa. Port Chester’s involved in the district’s SRO program has yet to begin—what’s going on?
Contract negotiations have delayed the process.
“Rye Brook has put together a contract, yet the school district at the time negotiated with Rye Brook but not Port Chester,” said Phil Dorazio, a Port Chester trustee who serves as the liaison to the school district. “It was told to me they said just take the Rye Brook contract and scratch out the Rye Brook and it’ll be the same thing, but it’s not the same thing. We have a different way to do things.”
“They included the (police) chief and captain in these discussions, but not the village manager or the Board of Trustees,” he continued. “So, even though they’re in charge, they still have to deal with the manager and trustees because they have to make the decision.”
Elaborating, Village Manager Stuart Rabin said progress is being made. There have been several meetings between the Village and school district to work out an agreeable contract.
“To this point, we have not executed a contract codifying the relationship as the execution copy that was provided by the district needed some language adjustments and reimbursement terms needed to reflect how the Village of Port Chester operates and be in better synchronization with our labor agreements,” he said. “The template that was negotiated between the school district and the Village of Rye Brook by their shared legal representation was not a one-size-fits-all document.”
As he referenced, both the Village of Rye Brook and the Port Chester School District are represented by Keane & Beane.
Over the last few weeks, since the Village of Port Chester has seen more involvement in SRO discussions, Dorazio said he also had concerns that he wanted to air. He supports the program, largely because he views it as a mentoring opportunity that “shows kids police are there to help, not harm” by encouraging relationship building between students and the local force.
But the problem is, “an officer from Rye Brook is never going to run into a student outside of the school, unless they live in that slim area of Rye Brook that’s in the district,” he said. A Port Chester SRO, he believes, will have more insight into students’ potential homelife stressors, which would more effectively facilitate getting them help in school when needed.
“I’m not saying the Rye Brook police aren’t capable; they’re an excellent police department. But they won’t know the students outside the classroom, outside the hallway. If a kid’s starting to go down the wrong path or something’s happening at home, a Rye Brook officer may not be privy to it,” Dorazio said. “I think we’re selling the program short by not having a Port Chester officer in the high school in conjunction at least.”
Dorazio brought those concerns to the district, and said he’s since realized it may not be a feasible proposition due to municipal boundaries. Henriquez confirmed: “That’s out of our sphere of influence in terms of jurisdiction.”
Turnover in the Village of Port Chester has also added a complication to getting the contract signed. Rabin said Anthony Cerreto, the village attorney who retired on Feb. 27, sent an edited contract for the school district attorney to review prior to his retirement, and a new draft was returned after his departure.
“In light of our tentative budget process, we made the decision to hold off on finalizing this contract until such time that the village treasurer, our new village attorney and I are able to meet and verify that the document is ready for the Board of Trustees’ final review,” he said.
While Henriquez declined to comment on the contract negotiation processes, she touted the Port Chester Police Department for their active support of the SRO program and said she’s looking forward to welcoming Ochoa to the schools soon. He has already been trained and is prepared to begin, said Port Chester Police Captain Charles Nielsen.
“This has been nothing but a collaborative and positive opportunity for all of our communities,” Henriquez said, and later added: “It’s a normal process to have a group with questions and concerns, and that’s understandable and we respect that.”
The finalization of the program is looking to happen sooner rather than later. Rabin said he hopes to be able to discuss the contract in detail with the Board of Trustees in time for their agenda-setting meeting scheduled for Mar. 27.
Comments:
You must login to comment.