High School Resource Officer

[Editor]

Hackensack police say school board owes $1M for school resource officer
Tuesday, September 17, 2013    Last updated: Tuesday September 17, 2013, 11:43 AM
BY  CAESAR DARIAS
CORRESPONDENT
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK - In a dispute over salary payments to the city, Hackensack High School has been without a School Resource Officer - in effect, its in-house security - since the beginning of the school year.

Instead, the Hackensack Police Department posted a police officer working overtime outside the high school, as well as Youth Division patrols, resulting in four arrests during the first week of school.

The Police Department discovered they have not been reimbursed by the Hackensack Public School District for assigning an resource officer to the high school since the 2005-2006 school year, a service that Police Director Michael Mordaga said amounts to roughly $1 million for salary and benefits. Mordaga was hired as police director in February.

City and police officials said the discovery is especially troublesome at a time when the Police Department is short on manpower, and strapped for resources to replace its aging fleet of patrol vehicles.

"It was in the budget, but we've never been invoiced," said Veronica Bolcik McKenna, the Board of Education president, in an interview prior to Monday night's board meeting.

Asked if the Board of Education should have paid the city even if it was not billed, board Attorney Richard E. Salkin said, "We assume they're going to bill us for it. We don't know if they're going to change their policy."

According records cited by Salkin, during the three school years between 2006-2007 and 2008-2009, the board budgeted $259,192 for resource officers. Those monies, however, went back into the into the school district's general fund because the school was not billed by the city, Salkin said.

Records for other school years were not available, nor could anybody locate the original formal agreement between the city and the school board.

Mordaga, Salkin, McKenna and the interim superintendent of schools, Joseph Abate, said a meeting will be set up with City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono to work out a compromise that appears will have a 50-50 split in costs as a starting point

As for any thought of the city recouping money for past services, Salkin said: "They'll have to take us to court because first of all, in many instances, they're past the statute of limitations. They slept on their rights. We would resist that."

"We're not trying to get over on anybody, at all," Salkin added. "They finally realized after many years that they weren't billing. We're going to sit down, hopefully, and resolve it going forward."

Addressing the board, Mordaga urged the school board pay more attention to what's happening "outside the schools."

According to Mordaga, police analysis revealed that over the last two years there was one drug arrest at the high school - for marijuana after a school nurse alerted the resource officer.

The first week of school yielded four arrests starting with a high school senior for allegedly selling drugs on school property, Mordaga said.

In a second incident, Mordaga said a police officer twice saw a car acting suspiciously.

On American Legion Drive, between the baseball field and the tennis courts behind the high school, police approached the car. Mordaga said the car "took off" and eventually stopped. Three 20-year-old men were in the car allegedly in possession of marijuana, 5,100 bags used to package heroin and heroin stamps.

In a third case, Mordaga said a woman was charged with reckless driving while on Beech Street. Some students were almost hit, said Mordaga.

Full details of the arrests were not available last night.

"When kids want to do drugs, they're outside the school," said Mordaga.

"We appreciate what's happening outside the building," said McKenna. "But I think we still believe in the role of the school resource officer... They play a special role. They're not just a police officer. They are trained in working in the schools and becoming an integral part of the school body. Students become comfortable with them. It sort of breaks down the wall between police and the students. Students are comfortable talking with them."

Although officials said they would work to find a solution, the meeting had a flare-up.

In a terse exchange between Mordaga and Salkin, the police director disputed the content of a "conversation" between the two parties.

"Did you not tell me that the reason we didn't have a school resource officer is because there's no one slotted in that position at this point in time," asked Salkin.

"No, I did not tell you that," Mordaga replied. "That's not what I told you, Rick. That's not what I told you. And that really, truly, that wasn't a conversation. That was a confrontation."

Salkin then read an email from Lo Iacono to Mordaga that said, in part, "Please ensure that we have an officer acting as an SRO on duty as school opens on Monday."

"Did you provide someone acting as an SRO when school opened on Monday," asked Salkin.

"No," replied Mordaga. "Not as an SRO."

Abate and board members concurred that whatever agreement is reached with the city it will be put in writing.

"That's the best way that we will know that we, as a board, and the Police Department and the city will have something to follow," said McKenna.

Officials said the cost of using an officer as a school resource officer will be about $115,000 per year, plus benefits. In the past, the board has provided a car.

Email: hackensack@northjersey.com

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[Editor]

Hackensack mayor directs city attorney to seek $1M reimbursement from school district for resource officer pay
Tuesday September 17, 2013, 10:44 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK – Mayor John Labrosse has asked the city attorney to negotiate with the school district to seek reimbursement for an estimated $1 million that the city has paid to post a full-time resource officer at Hackensack High School since 2006.

He also called for an investigation of the mixup over payment for the school resource officer. The city’s Police Department has supplied a full-time resource officer to the school district for over 25 years, but the district hasn’t paid for one since the 2005-06 school year.

“It’s our plan to negotiate and come up with some reasonable end,” Labrosse said Tuesday.

The school board attorney, Richard Salkin, said the board paid the city until seven years ago. It had budgeted for a resource officer — who serves mainly in the high school, but also assists in the middle school — for the following three years, but it didn’t pay because the district was never billed.

Salkin said the district couldn’t pay without a bill or invoice. “We’d be violating the law if we just sent the check,” he said, noting that the district added the unspent money to its surplus and used it for educational purposes.

The Police Department did not provide a resource officer for the current school year. Michael Mordaga, the police director since February, said no one spoke with him or requested a resource officer this year.

But he said the department has expanded police coverage outside the high school and more arrests have been made. An officer patrols outside the high school from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the Youth Division sends officers inside the school a few times a day.

“If at the end of the day nobody pays, then Hackensack police are still responsible for the safety of that school and maintain our presence there,” he said.

City and school officials said they could not find any documents that outline the terms of an agreement on the use of a school resource officer.

Still, Labrosse said the school board should be responsible for an estimated $1 million in salary and benefits, although he said city officials had yet to decide whether to seek full or partial compensation.

The high school also serves students from Maywood, South Hackensack and Rochelle Park, Labrosse noted, so city residents have been paying those towns’ shares too.

Salkin said the board is willing to negotiate with the city but doesn’t plan to pay retroactively and doesn’t have the money to do so.

“We’re not going to go broke for the city, frankly, being asleep at the switch,” he said.

City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said the use of a school resource officer is a key issue because of understaffing in the Police Department. “We’re tight on guys – some who are hurt or sick and one or two on leave,” he said.

School Board President Veronica Bolcik McKenna said she wants to resolve the matter and get an agreement in writing. She said she did not know how the confusion began, but noted the frequent turnover in the school district's administration in recent years.

The Police Department has supplied extra patrol officers outside the high school, but Bolcik McKenna said the board’s goal is to have a resource officer back inside the schools.

Hackensack was among the first districts in New Jersey to have a resource officer, Bolcik McKenna said. School-based officers can build trust with students, she said, and address issues before they become problems.

“We are looking for the city manager to sit down with us and to come to a resolution,” she said. “Our goal is to get a school resource officer back in school.”

Email: adely@northjersey.com

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[Editor]

The Record: Hackensack resources
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The Record

THE IDEA of stationing police officers in high schools was an outgrowth of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program, which began in the 1980's.

One of the first high schools in New Jersey to employ what are normally called resource officers was Hackensack, which initially welcomed them about 25 years ago. Supporters say a police officer in school can spot signs of trouble before they escalate and can also build trust among students. Parents generally support the idea, and most probably don't care what branch of government pays the officer.

But the new mayor of Hackensack cares.

Mayor John Labrosse, who assumed office July 1 after his reform slate swept the municipal elections, says he's discovered that the city's Board of Education paid the officer's salary when the arrangement began, but stopped doing so at the end of the 2005-06 school year. Now he wants the school district to pay the estimated $1 million it has cost the city to pay the officer's salaries and benefits over the last seven years.

Not so fast, says the district. The school board attorney contends that the district couldn't pay for the officer because the city never sent a bill for services. And in any event, the district has no intention of writing the city a check for $1 million. In the meantime, there is no resource officer in the high school this year, although school officials are hoping to have one in the near future.

While we understand the need for efficient and orderly government, whatever the outcome of this dispute, there will be no windfall for city taxpayers. No matter which government unit pays the resource officer, the money comes from essentially the same tax base, although the school district also receives tax payments from the three districts that send students to the high school, Maywood, Rochelle Park and South Hackensack.

Still, the city is right to raise the issue. How a police officer is paid may very well be a matter of simple bookkeeping, but it's important for government agencies to do things the right way. If the school district was paying the officer until the city stopped sending a bill, it's logical for the city to rectify the error by again billing the district.

It likely won't be easy to determine why the city stopped sending bills in the past. What's more important — and encouraging — is that the new city administration found the problem. As for the past payments, both the city and the district say they're open to negotiations, which is good to hear. The worst outcome would be a courtroom battle that would just result in each side running up legal fees at public expense.

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[Editor]

Dispute over Hackensack school officer's pay continues
Tuesday October 22, 2013, 6:19 PM
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK - The Board of Education and city leaders remain deadlocked over which entity is responsible for paying for a school resource officer at Hackensack High School.

The Police Department pulled the officer, which provided security, from the school at the start of the new academic year.

Since 2005-2006, the district has not reimbursed the Police Department for providing the officer at the high school, officials told the Chronicle in a previous report.

Police Director Michael Mordaga maintains the district owes approximately $1 million for salary and health benefits. The board attorney said the district never paid because it did not receive a bill.

During the Sept. 16 Board of Education meeting, Mordaga addressed the trustees saying that though a resource officer is not assigned to the school, police and the Youth Division were patrolling the campus, resulting in arrests.

At the Oct. 21 trustees meeting, board attorney Richard E. Salkin read a letter he sent to the Mayor and Council, dated Oct. 16, which asked for clarity on the situation and posed questions and concerns the board had pertaining to the payment of the SRO.

"The school district paid the annual billed amount/reimbursement to the city through 2006," according to the three-page letter. "In school Fiscal Year 2006-2007 $84,000 was encumbered in the school budget for such reimbursement. No bill was received from the city. In school Fiscal Year 2007-2008 $86,992 was in the school budget for such reimbursement. No bill was received from the city. In School Fiscal year 2008-2009 $88,200 was in the school budget for such reimbursement. No bill was received from the city. Thus, a total of $259,192 for the three years went unbilled and ultimately unpaid for the reimbursement."

According to Salkin's letter, the district's office launched a survey in early September of other Bergen County districts to see if they had resource officers. In total, the superintendent's office solicited more than 70 county districts, of which 32 responded.

Of those 32, 10, aside from Hackensack, have an SRO, with the Ho-Ho-Kus district paying the highest percentage for its resource officer's salary - two-thirds - and the lowest percentage paid from Teaneck, Garfield, Cresskill and Ridgefield. The latter municipalities do not seek contribution from their respective school districts, as per the letter.

According to Salkin, on Oct. 7 he, along with interim Superintendent Joseph Abate, met with City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono and Mordaga to discuss the matter and present district's positions, including a suggestion that since Hackensack High School accommodates the students of three sending districts, instead of a 50-50 payment split, the district would "pay 60 [percent] as a part of a formal written agreement going forward" and that "no school district pays 100 [percent] of the SRO cost."

According to the letter, Lo Iacono said the Lodi School District did pay the full bill. When Hackensack School District contacted Lodi Board of Education on Oct. 9, however, school officials were told the Lodi District does not pay the full cost of the salaries of the resource officers. Instead, they were told the school district pays $100,000 annually and gets two full-time SROs.

The lack of resource officers trickled down to the student population, as on Oct. 22, the Chronicle was informed of flyers passed to high school students asking them to attend the Mayor and Council meeting that evening as a sign of support.

"Attention Hackensack High School students," the flyer read in part. "The Hackensack City Council has removed our student resource officer from the HHS campus leaving no police presence inside of our school. The city council has demanded that the school board pay for the full cost of having an SRO, [one-third] more than the highest paying in our county. The Hackensack school board has agreed to pay 60 [percent] of the SRO's salary but the city council does not want to accept their offer. HHS is in an extremely vulnerable state without a police officer present to be the first responder in case of an emergency."

Resident Regina DiPasqua disapproved of the material passed to the students.

"I am absolutely beside myself over this," she said. "My son is a sophomore at the high school. I do not want him involved in this and I feel it was irresponsible for some anonymous person to hand these out. They are saying the school is not safe."

Thom Ammirato, spokesperson for the Mayor and Council, said the students should not be brought into "this mess."

"We have no clue who paid for these flyers," he said. "Who sanctioned this? Why are they injecting high school students into this matter? They shouldn't. This is a matter that is currently under negotiation between the city and district."

Ammirato said the city manager and attorney are reviewing the municipal side of the disagreement.

According to a statement from the Mayor and Council, Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino and other council members have received the flyers as well.

"Getting school kids involved in an issue as important and complicated as this is despicable," she said, adding a police officer was assigned to the school when it opened in September.

"It's not true that the school is without police protection," Canestrino said. "Anyone suggesting otherwise is misleading people and scaring parents unnecessarily. The issue we are trying to resolve with the School Board is financial."

Canestrino added Salkin's overall reasoning was irresponsible and detrimental to taxpayers who are footing the bill for the SRO when the high school also caters to sending districts.

"Hackensack High School serves as a regional facility and all its costs should be shared by taxpayers from all the sending districts," she said. "But the school board attorney believes that only the taxpayers from Hackensack should pay for the SRO. We respectfully disagree with that approach."

Neighboring South Hackensack, Maywood and Rochelle Park are the communities that form the sending and receiving relationship with Hackensack High School.

Canestrino said the tuition to the city's high school for out-of-town students derives from the school budgets in those communities and not from their police departments' spending plans and, as such, the city's share of the SRO payment should come from the district's school budget, not the municipal budget.

"There is an ongoing process to determine who should pay for the SRO and to determine why the school board got away without paying for the SRO for so many years even though the board budgeted for the position," Councilwoman Rose Greenman said. "If the city can recoup at least some of that money owed by the school board, it should. To fail to attempt to recoup the money - or find out who is responsible for the failure to pay -would be a dereliction of our fiscal responsibility."

During last night's board meeting, member Frank Albolino said he would attend the Mayor and Council meeting scheduled for tonight to represent the district.

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com

[Editor]

Hackensack students, parents tell council they want resource officer issue settled
Tuesday October 22, 2013, 10:02 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK – Students and parents called for a financial agreement Tuesday night that would allow a school resource officer to be reassigned to their district.


Hackensack High School students Ryan Cloughley,17, and Alexandria Kopwal, 16, addressing the City Council on Tuesday. The school district has been without a resource officer since the beginning of the school year with the Council and the Board of Education disagreeing over how to pay for an officer. City officials also say the school district failed to pay a total of about $1 million for an officer’s salary over the past seven years.
MARKO GEORGIEV / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The public spat between city and school officials wasn’t lost Tuesday on Alexandria Kowal, a high school junior who called for a resolution at a City Council meeting.

“The concerns should lie with the safety of the students,” said Kowal, 16, of Hackensack. “Safety, rather than money, should be your top priority.”

The school district used to pay the full cost of salary and benefits for a Hackensack police officer who was stationed at the high school and also served the middle school. District officials said the money went unpaid since the 2006-07 school year because the city never sent the district a bill or an invoice during those years, but Council members contend they were still responsible for payment

After three years, the Board of Education stopped budgeting for a school resource officer, school board member Frank Albolino said.

This year, the city supplied no officer, although the police department stepped up patrols outside the high school. City officials have asked the district to cover the entire cost, while the Board of Education has offered 66 percent.

The superintendent’s office surveyed other school districts in Bergen County and found that no other district with a resource officer paid in full, according to a letter sent to the City Council.

The letter said the Ho-Ho-Kus district pays two-thirds of its officer’s salary — the highest contribution found— but that several districts didn’t contribute at all.

Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse said the situation is unique in his city since the regional district also serves Maywood, Rochelle Park and South Hackensack.

The City Council and the Board of Education planned to meet to resolve the matter, Labrosse said. The negotiations, however, are complicated by disagreement over the past unpaid bills.

Council members said the school district should pay at least part of the $1 million it owes the city. Several city residents agreed and criticized the school board for failing to pay.

City Council members said they were upset by what they called “fear mongering.” A flier went out to students urging them to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

The flier claimed the high school was in an “extremely vulnerable state” without a police officer.

“It’s not true that the school is without police protection,” Deputy Mayor Kathy Canestrino said. “Anyone suggesting otherwise is misleading people and scaring parents unnecessarily.”

Police Director Michael Mordaga also said the school is safe and noted that a police officer was posted full time outside the school.

When a school resource officer was placed at the high school in 1982, the district became the first in the state to have one, Albolino said. Board members say school resources officers develop trust among students and help intervene in problems.

Email: adely@northjersey.com

[itsmetoo]

I don't think that anyone opposes the SRO.  Detective Furcal was not an SRO.  He was not certified as an SRO.  Detective Martin was trained.  Hackensack Police Director, Mordaga indicated at a Board meeting that an officer has been scheduled for training.  He also suggested that both the high school and middle school have an SRO.

I am both a parent and taxpayer, and have to budget my money to cover all things that I need as does the school board and city council.  The question is how many times should I pay for the same service.  Hackensack taxpayers have paid twice for this service while our sending districts have paid once.   Our taxes are split into three parts.  The school budget gets the majority of those taxes.  The city and county get their prospective portions to cover their budgets.    Because the school did not pay does not mean they should not pay. 

A woman at the meeting commented that if the fire department responded to an alarm at the high school, would the school have to pay.  If the fire trucks responding to the school were permanently placed there, I would say that they should. They are not.

School board of education member, Albolino, indicated that the school only budgeted for this security for the first three years in question.  Mr. Albolino has been on the board for almost 20 years.  Many of those years he served as President.  Why did he not question why the monies were not paid?  Why did he not question why the item was not budgeted in the more recent years?  The school board attorney for the past seven years, was the city attorney before that, he knew from both sides of the coin that payment was due.  Why did he not question it?  Detective Furcal was not invisible.  They used the service.  To simply say that the board never got a bill does not fly.  Bills at the school have been paid without invoices for years.  Only a few board members have questioned it and they were always ostracized for asking questions about those situations.  A woman at the meeting indicated that she learned that the school district had routinely paid truancy and residency officers for years without invoices.  What makes this different.  It was not until the new Police Director came along and audited his departments budget did it come to light.  He is right in seeking this money back.  Hackensack is extremely short on police officers. This officer, who is not a trained SRO,  is being paid by the city while the city police department cannot schedule him for duties to the city.  Despite that, the Police Director has provided security from day one of this school year on the perimeter of the building.  In fact, and in addition to that officer, he has scheduled patrol of the area by additional police officers.  Any intruder entering the building is less likely to gain admittance from the outside than ever before. 

The school district should do right.  Pay the bill in full and admit that you are wrong.  Then, get a properly trained SRO in the school.  Mr. Salkin suggesting that if the city wanted the money, they should sue the school board.  wouldn't he like that to happen?  After all, he would benefit twice.

[Editor]

Full meeting coverage is available on the City's website, Video page.

Public discussion of the Resource Officer, starts in Part 2, here.

[itsmetoo]

I have read many things on the nj.com forum.  I chose to post here because that forum seems so juvenile.  I just have 6 comments about the SRO situation.

1.  Once Detective Martin left the school, there has never been another SRO.  Detective Furcal was never trained as an SRO. 

2.  A couple of years ago, the district create a position titled "campus monitor".  The position pays approximately $40,000 per year.  As a part of the duties of a campus monitor, security was included.  I am not sure what else is included.

3. The salary determined for the SRO was decided by the school board and the former police chief and included in the school budget up until a few years ago. 

4.  The citizens of Hackensack have already paid for things budgeted into the schools.  We have also paid for the things budgeted in the municipality.  Adding the salary of the SRO as another tax on the citizens of Hackensack is double dipping.  The sending districts get hit only once.  Maybe the campus monitor position should be eliminated and the salary be used to hire retired officers paid through a school budget paid by what is essentially a regional high school.

5.  The real mystery can be answered by or between 2 people.  The school board attorney who was the former city attorney at the time this agreement was reached, and the School Board member who has sat on the board for 18 plus years (many as President).

6.  It is absurd that Salkin would tell the City to sue the school district if they want the money.  Boy, would he like that.  It just means more money for him. 

 

[Editor]

Hackensack community addresses SRO issue
Friday, November 1, 2013
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK — "Our safety isn't about dollars and cents" read, in part, a sign held by Alexandria Kowal, 16, a Hackensack High School junior, as students, parents, and residents called for a financial agreement between the Board of Education and the city that would allow a school resource officer (SRO) to be stationed at the school.


Discussions as to whether the Hackensack School District or the city should pay for the high school resource officer took place during the Mayor and Council meeting on Oct. 22. Hackensack High School Student Alexandria Kowal holds up banner as she waits with fellow student Ryan Cloughley to address the dais.
TOM HART/PHOTO


Board of Education trustee Francis W. Albolino addressed the Mayor and Council asking them to assist the district in paying for a school resource officer at the high school. 'The city and the Board of Ed aren't going anywhere,' he said. 'We have to work this issue out.'
TOM HART/PHOTO 

The urge for an agreement came during the Mayor and Council meeting on Oct. 22.

The school district used to pay the full cost of salary and benefits in order for a Hackensack police officer stationed at the high school. A separate SRO was once stationed at the middle school through a grant that the Police Department received. Since 2006, the district has not reimbursed the Police Department for providing the officer. Police Director Michael Mordaga maintains the district owes approximately $1 million for salary and health benefits.

Board of Education trustees including Francis Albolino and Carol Martinez, as well as board attorney Richard E. Salkin were present to address the issue.

Albolino urged the Council to work with the board to come to an agreement.

"The city and the Board of Ed aren't going anywhere," he said. "We have to work this issue out."

Salkin stressed the fact that the board did not receive an invoice for the years that it budgeted for the SRO and therefore could not reimburse the city.

"We cannot pay without an invoice," he said. "You cannot pay without an invoice. That's the way public entities have to do business."

Though Martinez is a board trustee, she stated she was there as a concerned resident and wanted an answer as to what happened to the money budgeted by the board and why the board and council are in their current predicament.

Aside from board trustees addressing the issue, students from Hackensack High School also spoke up during the meeting.

"We are here for our own bargaining and solely for our own bargaining," Ryan Cloughly, 17, from Maywood and the student body representative at the board meetings said. "All the information regarding the SRO was made public yesterday at the Board of Education meeting. I came here today with my friends because we are concerned about the current issue regarding the school resource officer. Honestly a lot of us don't feel safe without one and rightfully so considering the world we live in…a police officer is a police officer no matter what. which is why I don't understand why the board of education is being expected to pay?"

While there were individuals that said the city was liable for paying for the SRO, others argued that the city should not pay.

Resident Regina DiPasqua argued that she would object to the city paying any amount.

"If you agree to the 40 percent, I object to it," she said. "If you pay a dime, I object to it. I pay my municipal taxes, I pay my municipal taxes. The Board of Education is putting a hand in both pockets…I see a police officer — two, three police officers — at the school everyday. I am more comfortable with them seeing who goes into the building…that works for me."

During the Board of Education meeting, on Oct. 21, Salkin mentioned that the Board proposed for it to pay 60 percent of the SRO cost while the city covers the remaining 40 percent. During the council meeting, board officials said they offered 66 percent.

Resident Kathleen Salvo also touched upon the issue.

"If [the board] knew they weren't paying, what kind of message are we sending to our kids — if you can get away with it, get away with it," she asked.

Former, and first, Hackensack High School SRO Kenneth Martin argued the importance of having such an officer instituted at the school.

"Move forward, forget about the money," he said. "Let the council handle that. Let the school work that out. But I'm asking the council to put that school officer back immediately. We are talking about our students' lives."

A parent who spoke mentioned remembering Martin arrest individuals inside the school. She asked for an SRO to be reinstated at the school.

Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino explained that the discussions between the Board of Education and the council are not whether there should be an SRO, rather what budget does the cost of an SRO belong in.

"When you are trying to decide where an item should be in a budget, you look at the source of that expense," she said. "What is the source of the SRO? It's the school. It's not the city.. If we did not have a high school would the city be paying for an SRO? That's the question you have to ask yourself and the answer is no. The school is the entity that requires the SRO and that is the budget it has always been in and that is the budget that it belongs in."

According to Mayor John Labrosse, the Board of Education should have paid the bills regardless if the city sent an invoice.

"I understand there has to be a bill," he said. "Well, if you owe it or you know you have the money and owe it and didn't receive the bill, I would think you would give us a phone call, a tip, something saying, 'Hey, we need a bill so we can pay.' You can rest assured if public service wasn't paid or forgot to send a bill to Hackensack High School for a year and then they realized and Hackensack High School said 'We're not paying it'…the lights would be out. That's exactly what would happen."

Labrosse further questioned where the budgeted money went and asked for reimbursement.

"There were three years where it was last budgeted and in my opinion if you budgeted that money and we gave you the service, the taxpayers are now paying twice for it," he said. "If you did not pay for it that money went back into your budget, back into surplus and we don't even know what you did with it…it is my strong opinion that the city of Hackensack — the Police Department in particular — should be reimbursed for the years it was budgeted — at least — if not more."

Though an SRO is not stationed at the school, Mordaga assured all present that the high school perimeters are being monitored and patrolled.

"I wasn't going to speak tonight but after listening to everything, really I'm here to just assure the students in the high school and parents," he said. "Right now, the controversy of the payment, the controversy that is going to take place between the city council and the Board of Ed will take place and it will be resolved and until its resolved be assured that the police are going to be there everyday protecting you — and they have been. Since the first day of school there has been a fulltime police officer at that high school…right now my job is to keep you safe and if a gunman is going to come to that school and right now if the resource officer is sitting in the school or in the hall ways, the gunman is going to be in before he knows it."

In addition, Mordaga said that he does support the idea of a school resource officer at the high school as well as the middle school, but a resolution between the city and the board must be agreed upon.

"I am all for the resource officer," he said. "The payment has to come to a conclusion though between the city and the Board of Ed and I'm sure it will. The little things that are being said why its not happening and who should pay, that is all going to be resolved, but feel confident and be assured that every student, every teacher and everybody that goes to that school is going to be safe in the interim."

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/230156271_Hackensack_community_addresses_SRO_issue.html?page=all#sthash.GXnPODHj.dpuf

[Editor]

Letter: Hackensack, Nov. 1
Friday, November 1, 2013
Hackensack Chronicle

Outraged by comments

To the editor:

I am writing to express my outrage over comments made by Hackensack City Council spokesman Thom Ammirato in a Hackensack Chronicle concerning the Hackensack School Resource Officer. Mr. Ammirato criticized the involvement of high school students who voiced their displeasure over the council’s decision to remove the resource officer from the high school pending the resolution of a salary funding dispute.

Mr. Ammirato, who admitted the situation was a "mess," questioned the student’s First Amendment rights to distribute flyers without being "sanctioned" to do so. It is disgraceful that Mr. Ammirato, speaking for the city council, would disparage students who were expressing a genuine concern for their safety. Ironically, the city council cannot find approximately $50,000 in their budget toward resolving the salary issue under a proposal made by the school board, yet they were able to find $78,000 to create a part-time position for Mr. Ammirato, who served as their campaign manager. His duties appear to consist of defending the actions of the city council. That is an interesting display of priorities from council members who pledged to "reform" city government.

Daniel Carola
Hackensack
   
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/230156371_Letter__Hackensack__Nov__1.html#sthash.rzs1zol8.dpuf

[hackscoop]

For some reason The Scoop doesn't get equal time here by the Editor so,

http://hackensackscoop.blogspot.com/2013/10/misguided-residents-fire-at-city-council.html

[Whitey]

Some of the articles about Hackensack appear to give conflicting reports. There seems to be general agreement that the HPD does not have a certified SRO on staff but it is not clear whether there is an officer assigned to duty inside the high school.  It would be a good idea to clear this up.

It seems as though Hackensack is not the only school system seeking funding for a School Resource Officer from the municipality.  See - http://www.nj.com/washington-township-times/index.ssf/2013/09/washington_township_school_boa_8.html.   It is clear that most municipalities do share the cost of the SRO, so let’s hope the City and the BOE can come to an agreement.

[Editor]

Hackensack High gets police officer back, but disputes over pay remain
Tuesday, November 5, 2013    Last updated: Tuesday November 5, 2013, 6:43 AM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — For the first time since September, a police officer assigned to Hackensack High School reported for work Monday after school officials agreed, following a battle with the City Council, to pay his salary.


KEVIN R. WEXLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Hackensack police Detective Luis A. Furcal patrolling on Monday inside Hackensack High School. The resource officer position is being paid for by the school board. But school board members were upset by a last-minute demand to also pay for the school resource officer's benefits, board President Veronica Bolcik McKenna said. And officials also still disagree over reimbursement for the officer's salary for the previous seven years, an amount of about $1 million that council members say the school district should have paid.

Amid tensions, seven city and school officials met Thursday to negotiate a settlement. The board members agreed to pay the officer's full salary, but said the agreement they received later on paper also compelled them to pay for benefits.

"The agreement that we agreed to with a handshake referred to salary only," Bolcik McKenna said.

She described the situation as "emotional" and "frustrating."

"We believe we were trying to deal in good faith and we do not necessarily think we got that kind of commitment from the council," she said.

City spokesman Thom Ammirato said there was a misunderstanding after Thursday's meeting about what "total cost" meant, and whether it included benefits, but that it was cleared up over the weekend.

Other districts in the county, school officials said, either didn't pay for the school resource officer's salary or only paid part of the salary.

Salary and benefits for the officer for the school year will cost about $115,000, Bolcik McKenna said, but the district will only be responsible for the months the officer serves in the school.

The agreement still has to be approved by the city and school officials and would be good until June 30. The board president said the board expects to ratify the agreement at its next meeting to ensure the school resource officer is kept at the school. She said the board will form a committee to explore options for next school year.

The school district used to pay the full cost of salary and benefits for a police officer who was stationed at the high school and also served the middle school. City officials said the school district had failed to pay a total of about $1 million for the officer's salary over the past seven years.

The money went unpaid since the 2006-07 school year because the city never sent the district a bill or an invoice during those years, school officials said. Council members contend they were still responsible for payment.

The board doesn't believe it's liable for the money, and the board president said she believed the issue has been dropped.

That's not the view of the council. Mayor John Labrosse could not be reached Monday for a response, but Ammirato he had spoken with the mayor and that the issue of back pay was a separate one and remains unresolved.

Labrosse said earlier, in an emailed statement: "I am happy to report that this issue has been settled in a manner that serves the interests and concerns of all parties, primarily the well-being of the students at Hackensack High School."

Email: adely@northjersey.com

[itsmetoo]

With regard to Washington Township, it does not have a regional or sending district format.  I don't think it is a fair comparison.  Again, I speak as a parent and a taxpayer.  I have already paid my school taxes and anything, including resource officers, should be paid through the school budget.  To ask that the residents of Hackensack pay twice, is unfair.  That cost should be split amongst the 4 districts using the high school. 

Who was the Board Administrator before Mr. Kramer? Who did the audits for the district? How could they not see that the money still remained in the budget for security and if it did, where did it go?  President Bolcik-McKenna does not appear to have any answers.  A handshake agreement.  What is that?

[Editor]

Hackensack school board backs out of deal to pay for resource officer
Wednesday November 6, 2013, 9:25 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER

HACKENSACK – Board of Education members said Wednesday they were pulling support for a deal reached days ago with the city in which they agreed to pay the salary of a high school resource officer because, they claimed, city officials reneged on promises.

Hackensack city officials denied that they altered the agreement and fired back at the school board, charging that they were acting in the interest of politics and not the children.

The collapse of the settlement is the latest in an escalating battle between the two elected bodies – a new City Council that vowed to rid the city of problems inherited from the old administration and a school board viewed by critics as allies of that administration. The feud erupted in a fierce war of words Wednesday. Mayor John Labrosse accused school officials of using children as political pawns, while the school board charged council members with bullying.

“Overreaching and ‘bully-boy’ tactics do not reflect well on a [council] that is supposed to set good examples of fairness, and commitment to the people of this community,” school officials said in a statement Wednesday.

Council members fired back in a reply hours later, saying the Board of Education’s comments were “inflammatory, blatantly political and not in the best interest of the children and parents of the school district.”

The feud began with the city’s discovery that the school district hadn’t paid for a resource officer for the past seven years. Council members said the district should pay all or part of the $1 million cost for those years. The resource officer was pulled from the school in September while the city investigated how his job was financed, but the officer was returned to the school Monday because a tentative agreement had been reached.

Despite the latest dispute, Labrosse said the city will continue to provide a school resource officer but expects payment in full, with benefit cost, from the school board.

School officials claimed they couldn’t pay for the past seven years because the city never billed them or sent invoices, despite inquiries about bills “on numerous occasions.” They also noted that other districts in the county pay no cost or partial cost to have a resource officer assigned to their district. They said it would be unfair to ask taxpayers to pay that amount again.

School board members said the council agreed to drop the pursuit of retroactive pay when the tentative agreement was reached Thursday – but city officials say that’s not true. The issue of back payments “was never discussed and is in no way linked to the city council’s earnest attempts to provide an SRO to the high school,” Labrosse said.

He said it was “disturbing” that school officials believe it is all right to receive a service and not pay for it.

Officials also argued over the responsibility for cost of benefits. Board President Veronica Bolcik McKenna said the council demanded pay for benefits only after the agreement was reached. Labrosse said the board should have known the full cost would include benefits.

The meeting last week took place with two council members, two board members, the police director and city manager. Lawyers were absent – in an apparent rebuke of city attorney Richard Salkin.

Salkin is a former city attorney and was close with the Zisa family that dominated politics with its allies for over two decades before the council’s May election sweep on an anti-establishment platform.

Council members have questioned Salkin’s role in the district’s failure to pay past bills and are hesitant to negotiate with him. Salkin said his role is as negotiator, but he’s not responsible for paying bills. He said the board’s actions weren’t about politics.

But in a city where politics are typically fiery and pervasive, not everyone believes that.

“The school board seems to be engaged in a matter of revisionist history and is attempting to paint the city council in a negative light in an ill-advised attempt to gain some political advantage,” Labrosse said. “The city council does not wish to engage in political mud wrestling with the school board and its political advisers, only to address real issues of concern to taxpayers and students.”

Email: adely@northjersey.com