Committee approves $500,000 Schenectady school‑safety contract covering six full‑time officers and permits drone nest at Central Park Middle School

The finance committee on July 21 approved a renegotiated agreement with the Schenectady City School District that consolidates city public‑safety costs for the district under one contract and funds six full‑time community engagement officers.

Staff described the agreement as rolling the city’s school‑related public‑safety expenses — officer assignments, overtime and related engagement work — into a single contract with the district. Under the deal the district will pay $500,000 for the 2025 academic year; staff said that sum includes overtime and that annual increases of 2% are built into later years of the agreement. The funded staffing complement was described as six full‑time positions composed of four officers, one investigator (with a slightly higher pay grade) and one sergeant. Committee members asked whether the contract year covers only the academic year; staff said the $500,000 figure is for the academic year, and that the arrangement also provides for district access to school safety officers for summer park programming and pool coverage.

During discussion staff said the agreement includes efforts to create youth pathways into public‑safety careers, and that the agreement consolidates prior separate overtime and fire‑education costs into the city’s billing to the district. Committee members asked how the staffing affects patrol response; staff said the six positions were added previously and are managed so as not to degrade street response, though staffing and coverage will continue to be monitored.

Separately, the committee approved a license agreement allowing the city to site a police drone nest and antenna on the roof of Central Park Middle School. Staff said the district will provide power and internet for the drone nest and that there is no additional cost because those services were covered under the previously approved school contract; the Central Park Middle School location was described as the highest point in the city and the second drone‑nest site in the system to improve coverage.

Why it matters: The contract locks in a consolidated payment from the school district for officers, overtime and related engagement services and embeds the district‑hosted infrastructure for a drone deployment that police say will improve citywide aerial coverage.

Next steps: Staff will execute the contract, monitor overtime and staffing impacts, and finalize the license agreement for the drone nest with the district.