Hackensack police say school board owes $1M for school resource officerTuesday, 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.
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