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District proposes more security monitors and one district-wide school resource officer in budget draft
Summary
As part of the draft 2025–26 budget the district proposed converting clerical assistant roles to security monitors, adding five elementary security monitors and restoring a district-level school resource officer position primarily assigned to the high school.
NISKAYUNA, N.Y. — The Niskayuna Central School District’s working draft 2025–26 budget includes a proposed expansion of school-safety staffing that would add five full-time security monitors at elementary schools, convert existing supervisor/clerical assistant roles to security monitors at the high school and middle schools, and restore a district-level school resource officer (SRO) position.
District leaders told the board on Feb. 25 that the recommendations come from a recently completed outside safety assessment. The administration is proposing one SRO whose assignment would be district-wide but primarily at Niskayuna High School, coupled with additional in‑district staff so the district can provide coverage during after‑school and evening events.
A district presenter said the safety study produced roughly 50 recommendations and that the board’s draft budget reflects prioritized items carrying higher cost. The presentation included a training and credentialing contract for monitors; the district described that contract as a total cost of about $7,500 that would support standardized training across the expanded team.
Why it matters: the staffing and SRO restoration change how the district provides on‑campus security, affects budget and hiring, and renews a formal officer role after the program was previously paused.
Details
- Staffing pattern proposed in draft: five security monitors at the high school (total), two at each of the two middle schools referenced and one full-time monitor at each of the five elementary schools. - SRO: proposal to restore one district-level school resource officer primarily assigned to the high school, with capacity for educational and preventative programming across other campuses. - Training: a standardized training/credentialing contract was included in the draft to allow cross‑training and flexible after‑hours coverage.
Superintendent Carl said the district discussed the SRO proposal "based upon some pretty lengthy conversations with the chief of police for Niskayuna as well as with the advisors from Alteras that produced our report." The administration said many of the safety-study recommendations are low cost and some have already been completed; higher-cost items are being phased across semesters and next year according to priority.
Ending: The safety staffing proposals are in the working draft and would require board approval and voter action where applicable; no final decisions or votes on the budget occurred at the Feb. 25 meeting.
