Memoranda of Understanding or agreements relevant to implementation of the District-wide School Safety Plan and, where appropriate, Building-level Emergency Response Plans.
MUNICIPAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE OF HERKIMER AND THE HERKIMER CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE PROVISION OF A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER
1. This Municipal Cooperation Agreement (“Agreement”) is by and between the Village of Herkimer, a municipal corporation, located at 120 Green Street, Herkimer, New York 13350, (the “Village”), and the Herkimer Central School District, a public school district with an address of 801 West German Street, Herkimer, New York 13350 (the “District”).
2. The parties hereby agree to enter into a municipal cooperation agreement under General Municipal Law § 119-o to discharge the functions, powers, and duties imposed on each of them by the statutes and regulations of the State of New York.
3. This Agreement details the duties and obligations of the Village and the District in regard to the Village providing the District with two Police Officers as a School Resource Officers (“SRO”) on the District’s Campus (the “Program”).
4. The mayor of the Village of Herkimer is authorized to execute this Agreement on behalf of the Village of Herkimer by resolution of the Village Board attached as Appendix A.
5. The superintendent of the Herkimer Central School District is authorized to execute this Agreement on behalf of the District by resolution of the Board of Education attached as Appendix B.
6. The Term of this Agreement commences on July 1, 2019 after it is executed by both parties and will terminate on June 30, 2022, with automatic renewals of one-year terms thereafter under the same terms and conditions specified in this Agreement.
7. The Village’s obligations are as follows:
A. The Village shall provide the District with at least two (2) Police Officers as SROs to the District’s Campus. Should an assigned SRO be absent the village will provide an SRO to replace the normally assigned SRO.
B. The SROs may assist in:
i. Community outreach, truancy reduction and drug and education and prevention services.
ii. Educating students about law and law enforcement.
iii. Facilitating counseling and mediating (as mutually agreed upon by both parties) student-teacher and student-parent communication and conflicts and other conflict resolution.
iv. Additional law related educational programming as agreed between the SRO and the District.
C. The above duties in Paragraph “B” shall not interfere with the SRO’s taking law enforcement action at the District.
D. The SRO will be present from 7:45 a.m. until 3:45 p.m (the “Full Time Schedule”), or some lesser amount of time as agreed to by the School District and Village, Monday through Friday, while classes are in session, except as provided in Paragraph “E” next below. The SRO will check in with the office of the principal of the school to which they are assigned upon arrival on Campus and prior to departure, except in cases of emergency.
E. The SRO shall remain on Campus unless:
i. The SRO is directed by the Police dispatch to respond to an emergency off the Campus.
ii. The SROs investigation of an incident that occurred on Campus requires the SRO to leave the Campus.
iii. The SROs leave Campus to obtain food and returns to the Campus to eat. (No more than twice during a shift.)
iv. The SROs leave at the end of the shift.
v. It is the SROs opinion that he/she must leave the Campus in order to protect life or property off Campus.
8. The District’s obligations are as follows:
A. The District shall cooperate with the Village in order to implement the Program.
B. The annual amount to be paid by the District shall be $115,000 in each year for the Full Time Schedule or prorated for a lesser amount as dictated by actual hours. Village shall bill for services on a quarterly basis in in arrears, and the District shall pay within thirty (30) days of presentation of an invoice or voucher (at direction of the District.) This amount may be modified after the 2021-22 school year at the time of renewal as specified in Article 6 of this Agreement in a manner mutually agreeable to both parties and as set forth in a writing executed by both parties in accordance with Article 9 (G) of this Agreement. The annual amount shall be prorated for any term less than one year, and for any time that is less than full time, including any periods when no SRO is assigned to the District pursuant to a request by the Village.
9. Mutual Covenants and Restrictions:
The Village and the District (the “Parties”) agree and consent to the following covenants and restrictions:
A. Nothing in this Agreement will be construed as creating a partnership between the Parties. The relationship between the Parties is that of Vendor and Vendee.
B. The District shall have the opportunity to interview and select the SROs from among Village Police applicants to ensure a good fit with the District. The Village shall investigate District concerns about the SROs performance at the District. If the situation cannot be resolved to the two parties Agreement, the District may dismiss the officer from assignment as SRO. The Village shall then provide new SRO applicants.
C. Upon 30 days’ written notice and request by the Village, an officer serving as an SRO at the District’s Campus will be reassigned to regular duty with the Village. Within a reasonable time following this notice, the Village shall provide new SRO applicants to the District and will cooperate with the District’s efforts to select a new SRO within the 30-day period.
D. Either Party can terminate this Agreement, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to the other Party. Notice shall be sent to the Parties at the addresses listed above, except that termination will not relieve the District for payment of SRO services actually rendered up to and including the date of termination.
E. Both Parties acknowledge that they have had the opportunity to review this Agreement with their respective attorneys and are prepared to fulfill and comply with all of their respective obligations, duties and covenants contained herein.
F. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York. Any disputes relating to this Agreement shall be heard in a court of competent jurisdiction having venue in Herkimer County.
G. The terms and conditions of this Agreement can only be changed in writing executed by both Parties.
The Parties agree to comply with the foregoing obligations and acknowledge their consent to same as indicated by the signatures below.
1. It shall be the primary role of the school resource officer to provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds. In addition, to this primary role, school resource officers also may serve additional roles, including but not limited to:
(a) Proposing and enforcing policies and administrative procedures related to school safety;
(b) Utilizing technology in the implementation of a comprehensive safety program;
(c) Serving as a liaison with other school officials and other community agencies, including but not limited to, other law enforcement entities, courts, health care entities, and mental health entities;
(d) Proposing and implementing strategies concerning prevention, response and recovery efforts for incidents and/or emergency situations occurring on school grounds and/or involving students, faculty, administration or visitors to the school;
(e) Proposing and assisting in the execution of school emergency drills and proposing and assisting in the creation of school safety plans;
(f) Providing educational and mentoring services to students;
(g) Assisting in the design, explanation and enforcement of school safety and security policies and procedures; and
(h) Performing such other and further roles, responsibilities and activities as the school district may deem appropriate and proper for a law enforcement officer to perform, in order to advance the security, safety and well-being of students, faculty, administration and visitors to the school district’s schools, transportation vehicles and school grounds.
2. The School Resource Officer shall not act as a school disciplinarian as disciplining students is a District responsibility. The District and appropriate staff shall be responsible for investigating and determining, in their discretion, whether a student has violated school and/or District disciplinary codes or standards and the appropriate administrative action to take. However, this shall not be construed to prevent the SRO from sharing information with the District administration/staff which may aid in the determination of whether a disciplinary offense has occurred. The SRO will be provided with up-to-date copies of District disciplinary policies and codes of each school, and the SRO shall become familiar with same. The District administration/staff shall advise the SRO of threatening behavior, events, incidents or activities concerning current or former students or staff possibly giving rise to criminal or juvenile violations, or security issues, or concerns (such as pending or implemented student discipline, suspension/termination of staff, and the like) and the SRO shall then determine whether law enforcement action is appropriate. The SRO, as an employee of the Village of Herkimer Police Department, is authorized to receive and appropriately act on any of such information or reports. The School Resource Officer is not to be used for regularly assigned lunchroom duties, as hall monitors, or other monitoring duties. If there is a problem in such areas, the SRO may assist the District until the problem is resolved.
3. The confidentiality of student records are governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The parties agree that the SRO will be trained in the confidentiality requirements of FERPA and will comply in all aspects of FERPA.