Binghamton City Council approves one-year extension of school resource officer agreement

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Binghamton City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to extend the agreement with school resource officers in Binghamton City Schools for the 2025–26 school year. The introductory resolution to extend the memorandum of understanding was approved after council members said they had sought additional information about how the SROs operate and how the district views the program.

Council Member Middleton made the motion to introduce the resolution and a colleague seconded; the motion passed with five affirmative votes and no opposition. There were no public comments at the meeting.

The motion followed a prior informational Zoom meeting in August that council members described as non‑quorum and intended to gather details about the MOU. "We received this MOU in August, and we were just doing our due diligence," Middleton said. He added that SROs "don't discipline, they're just there to kind of bridge the relationship between the police and the school" and to provide protection if an incident occurs.

Middleton and other council members said the extension was approved in part so the council could continue reviewing how the program operates. "We at city council have no interest in canceling SROs," Middleton said, describing the council's intention to collect more information, not to terminate the program immediately.

Council members said the superintendent committed to share updated studies or student surveys on perceptions of SROs after those materials are presented to the school board, and that the school district has expressed satisfaction with the agreement. Council members also noted that contracts are bilateral and that extending the MOU reflects the district's concurrence as well as the city's.

The council framed the vote as a continuation of oversight rather than a policy shift: members said the August meeting clarified procedural questions about how the MOU works and how the city and the district coordinate. The resolution was brought forward by the Municipal and Public Affairs committee for introduction and a roll‑call vote at the special business meeting.

With the extension in place, council members said they expect to review any forthcoming survey or study results shared by the superintendent and the school board before considering further changes to the agreement.