The Herkimer Central School District and Board of Education were extremely disappointed to learn that the Herkimer village mayor and Board of Trustees unilaterally terminated the longstanding school resource officer (SRO) program. The district and the village have worked together to provide SROs in each of the district’s buildings for the previous nine years. The program has been an overwhelming success during the entirety of that time. The district’s SROs are a vital part of the fabric of our school community and serve as an invaluable resource for our children, our staff and our families. The district cannot overstate its disappointment that these specially trained police officers are being removed from the district without discussion and upon short notice.
For the past year, the district has worked tirelessly to secure an agreement with the village that would maintain the SRO program for the foreseeable future. While negotiating a new contract with the village, the district agreed to meaningful cost increases that would fully cover the salaries of the SROs for their time at the schools and increase the compensation provided for additional SRO presence at extracurricular events. The district and the village reached a new agreement for the SRO program that was approved by the Board of Education on Feb. 13, 2025.
Two months after coming to this agreement, on April 15 the mayor notified the superintendent via email that the village would no longer provide SROs to the district. The district sought to find solutions to the village’s financial concerns with the continuation of the program and indicated a willingness to make additional monetary concessions in order to maintain at least one assigned SRO to the district’s schools for the 2025-2026 school year. This concession included the district paying the full salary of one SRO and then seeking to add a school peace officer (SPO) from the Herkimer County Sheriff’s Office in place of the second SRO position. The district was not given an opportunity to engage in further discussions before a village decision was made on May 1. The village was clear that due to their precarious financial situation and prioritization, the village board determined not to continue the SRO program.
The safety and well-being of students remains the district’s top priority. The district continues to seek partnership with the village and requests that the village restore the SRO program on those same terms that the parties just negotiated and agreed upon in February. In the meantime, the district will continue to explore every option available to it in order to return at least one SRO to its buildings for the coming school year and beyond.
