Westchester school budgets reflect increases in security

By William P. Stump

As Westchester taxpayers prepare to go to the polls later this month to vote on their respective school budgets, they will face the usual tax increases to cover rising pension and medical insurance costs. This year, however, there is an unfunded mandate that”™s likely to cause major increases in some districts ”“ school safety.

Shortly after the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Westchester school districts began to examine their safety plans at the behest of concerned parents. Many districts sought outside professional help in the form of security consulting firms to assess the level of security in their schools.

Several districts commissioned security audits. New Rochelle school district, for example, paid one such firm $40,000 for a security review. John Quinn, assistant superintendent for business in New Rochelle, said, “We wanted to bring in a big name to ensure our current system was working and no holes” as they hired a firm headed by Howard Safir, former police commissioner for the New York City Police Department.

In Rye, newly appointed Superintendent Frank Alvarez brought in a firm he had worked with in New Jersey. The Rye district study cost $20,000. Immediately after the Newtown shooting, Rye added security officers to its three elementary schools. Prior to the Connecticut school shooting, Rye had security only at the high school and middle school. This implementation will be reflected next year in costs to the district of approximately $132,000, as outlined in the district”™s annual budget vote mailing to taxpayers.

One district has put a “security bond” item on the ballot as well. Rye Neck school district has a $1.4 million proposal that would allow it to upgrade communication and security systems with state of the art equipment at each of its schools. The district will be eligible for $400,000 in state aid toward this upgrade and through the state formula for such funding the repayment would be spread over a seven- year period.

Not all security upgrades are visible to the public, however. Speaking at a meeting hosted by Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino at SUNY Purchase and attended by 400 educators and law enforcement officials in March, Harrison schools Superintendent Louis N. Wool told the audience that “Our upgrades are not immediately visible for reasons of confidentiality, as they should be.” Police presence has also been increased on a daily basis in Harrison, as well.

Prior to the latest concerns over school safety, school security was already a significant budget item for Westchester schools. Most districts use a combination of personnel, including hall monitors, general aides or civil service security employees. Many districts also employ contracted security through security companies. Port Chester school district, for example, just awarded a security firm $300,000 to provide uniformed personnel in all of its elementary schools. They cover the high school and middle school with in-house personnel. In a recent letter to the editor of The Journal News, Ed Kliszus, superintendent of schools for Port Chester, explained that the increased security reflected the community”™s concern for safety.

Mount Vernon school district employs approximately 94 security officers, all of whom are represented by the teachers union.

Pocantico Hills, the county”™s smallest school district increased security by adding an additional security position effectively doubling the security presence. Said Jay Scotto-Friedman, assistant superintendent for business, “The parents have been very supportive of our increase in security, and it”™s comforting to the staff to know that someone is checking everyone who enters our school”.

Speaking to a group of parents recently at a presentation in New Rochelle, Safir told the audience, “Unfortunately we live in a society where violence does not discriminate, and is spontaneous.”

While it may seem unfortunate to many that such funds must be spent on security rather than on education in the schools, it appears that Westchester school districts have met this challenge in a variety of creative and responsive ways for their constituents. This will be reflected in the proposed school budgets for the 2013-2014 school year put before the voters on May 21.

 

William Stump is the senior security consultant for NJB Security Services Inc. in Mount Vernon.