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Council hears outline of intermunicipal school resource officer agreement
Summary
City police briefed councilors on a school-district agreement to assign 10 school resource officers and one sergeant to Syracuse schools; staffing and reimbursement details were discussed but not finalized in the tentative session.
Syracuse Police Department officials told the Common Council about an intermunicipal agreement with the Syracuse City School District to provide school resource officers (SROs) and a supervising sergeant in the district’s high schools.
First Deputy Chief Rich Shaw said the agreement calls for the assignment of 10 officers and one sergeant during the school year. Shaw clarified that school resource officers are active-duty police officers, not retired officers serving in a special capacity.
Shaw said SROs have been a long-standing presence in Syracuse schools, noting the unit has been larger in prior years. Councilors asked how the assignment affects patrol staffing and how reimbursement from the school district would be handled. Shaw said the department must assign officers and a sergeant and that the city has performed SRO assignments for decades. He also reported uncertainty over the exact reimbursement letter amount provided by the district, noting an earlier draft appeared to show $1.5 million and a later read indicated $1.8 million; he offered to work with the district and Downtown Committee representatives on final language.
Councilors pressed about recruitment of retired officers for other school roles; Shaw said school resource officers are active police officers and that special police (retired officers) have been unsuccessfully recruited for some middle and elementary school positions.
No final vote or formal contract action was recorded during the tentative session. Councilors asked staff to clarify reimbursement figures and to align the city’s legislative letter with the school resolution before further action.
