AMHERST, N.Y. — Two new school resource officers are now set to walk school hallways in the town of Amherst. One has been specifically assigned to the Amherst Central School District, and the Williamsville Central Schools will gain an SRO as well.
The districts and town are splitting the costs for these positions with the formal agreement up for town approval at its Tuesday meeting. The town is paying roughly $65,000 for each of the new officers and hiring two new officers to replace them on the overall force.
This is in contrast to the Sweet Home School District, which added its own trained SRO 10 years ago.
Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa says, "There's a lot of people who feel that school districts should provide their own security. In the town of Amherst, the way my police chief and I look at things is, it's the town's job to provide overall security and safety within the town of Amherst."
To that end, the town is also investing in a new police training and community policing facility in a former motorcycle sales complex on Bailey Avenue. It will include mock-ups of business and school settings where School Resources Officers could train.
Kulpa adds, "I'm not looking to grow a school security fleet ... but we have 23 public school buildings spread out through 54 square miles of the town of Amherst. It takes a while to really be able to put together a proper response."
Kulpa contends School Resource Officers can also gain valuable intelligence on drug sales, help handle bullying and behavior problems, and provide guidance for students and staff. "You know the officers are meant to hear about issues before they become issues."
Supervisor Kulpa says he eventually wants to work with the Williamsville Central School District to hire two more school resource officers next year. He says they should specifically be assigned so that all three high schools in the Williamsville district would have such officers in place.