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Riverhead board approves districtwide safety plan; public raises objections to SRO reinstatement
Summary
After a presentation on revised New York State workplace-violence and emergency-planning rules, the Riverhead Central School District Board approved a districtwide school safety plan; public commenters objected to how a recent special meeting that reinstated SROs was noticed.
The Riverhead Central School District Board of Education on Sept. 10 voted to adopt a districtwide school safety plan following a presentation by district safety official Terry Culhane outlining recently amended New York State workplace-violence and emergency-planning requirements.
"The New York State workplace violence prevention law was recently amended to include all elementary and secondary educational facilities," Culhane told the board, summarizing required elements such as a written policy, a risk-assessment evaluation, an incident-reporting system and employee education on recognizing and reporting threats. He described the plan as twofold: a published districtwide plan and confidential, building-level plans for emergency protocols.
Culhane also walked the board through operational requirements the law imposes on districts: annually testing the district plan, conducting drills (the plan calls for 12 drills a year, eight evacuation or fire drills and four lock down/lockout/shelter-in-place drills), establishing building crisis teams and designating a district emergency coordinator. Culhane identified the interim superintendent Cheryl Pedicich (named in the presentation) as the district emergency coordinator charged with activating resources and coordinating with first responders when needed.
Board members moved and approved the safety plan after the presentation. The motion to approve (Letter B on the agenda) passed without recorded opposition.
Public comment at the meeting highlighted concerns about the process by which school resource officers (SROs) were reinstated at secondary schools. Kimberly Wilder, coordinator of Riverhead RAZI, objected to decisions taken at a July 22, 2024 special meeting and said that some parent groups — including private and parochial families — were not properly notified because of an IT failure.
"The decision to reinstate SROs at the high school and to either put them in place or reinstate ... at the middle school has been a controversial issue," Wilder said. "This decision about SROs should not have been placed on a rushed special meeting over the summer. Instead, the board should have contacted, notified, and engaged as many stakeholders as possible."
The meeting record shows board members also voiced their support for proactive safety steps, noting additions to mental-health staffing and summer work by custodial and transportation teams. Culhane reiterated that the full districtwide plan and building-level plans are available on the district website for public inspection and invited public comments by email.
What happens next: The board approved the districtwide plan as presented and will maintain the confidential, building-level plans and continue the annual testing and reporting required by law.
