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Council authorizes Class 3 school safety officers; board of education to fund positions
Summary
The council approved changes to the code to allow Class 3 special law-enforcement officers in Hoboken schools. Speakers and council members framed the action as a public-safety measure; the Hoboken Board of Education will fund the positions, officials said.
The Hoboken City Council adopted an ordinance amending Chapter 59, Article 7 of the city code to establish Class 3 special law-enforcement officers who will serve in coordination with the Hoboken Board of Education.
What the ordinance does: Under the change, Class 3 officers — retired New Jersey police officers within the last three years who become school-resource officer certified — may be employed to provide on-site school safety coverage. Council members and speakers said the officers can be armed and will function similarly to uniformed school resource officers but with different deployment rules.
Who pays: Council members confirmed the Hoboken Board of Education will pay for the Class 3 officers. During the hearing, Councilwoman Fisher asked who would bear the cost; the chief and others clarified that the board will fund the program.
Public comment: Leslie Norwood, who spoke as a Hoboken resident (not in her capacity as a board trustee), said she supported the ordinance and praised the existing community-based model for school resource officers. Norwood said, “These officers are focused on building relationships and serving as a positive role model, rather than solely reacting to any incident.”
Police explanation: A police official described the hiring pool: “The pool is any New Jersey police officer who has recently retired within the last 3 years,” and said such retirees are certified as school-resource officers and can perform functions similar to full-time police officers in schools.
Council discussion and vote: Council members expressed concern about keeping officers assigned to schools (Class 3 officers would remain assigned on-site even if a citywide emergency required reassignment of full-time SROs). Council members praised the partnership between the city, police department and Board of Education; the ordinance passed on a recorded vote.
Implementation: Council members said the Board of Education has already identified and hired several officers as part of the program and that recruitment from the state retiree pool is expected to be adequate.
Outcome: The ordinance was adopted, with council members noting it is intended to enhance school safety while preserving the Hoboken Police Department’s community‑based policing approach.
