Ellington School Board Approves Additional School Security Officer

ELLINGTON, CT – The Ellington Board of Education approved the hiring of an additional school security officer in time for the start of the 2023-24 academic year.

Ellington’s school security team is now comprised of three security officers and one
school resource officer. The SRO is a uniformed police officer supervised by Sgt. Brian Santa of the
Ellington Resident State Trooper's Office. The SSOs are retired police officers employed by the Ellington Board of Education.

Ellington is one of the few school districts in the State of Connecticut that allow SSOs to carry a
firearm.

School Security Officer Michele Landry has been with the Ellington Schools for five years. This year she will
assume additional coordinator duties. Chris Dufresne and Rich Ameral are newly hired SSOs, as is Jeff Duda who joins the team as an SRO.

"The Ellington Board of Education greatly values school safety and the role that law enforcement plays in society overall, especially schools. They believe in armed school security and resource of officers, understanding the importance of the EPS security team to build positive relationships with staf , students, and their families,” Superintendent of Schools Scott Nicol said.

"The Board has been persistent over many years to build this security team, to ensure they are armed and capable in addition to building relationships with the Ellington Family. This community highly values law enforcement both within and outside of the schools’ borders – especially recognizing today’s societal challenges. Educating our children is important, yet ensuring our children return home safely is everything," added Kerry Socha, a school board member who chairs the operations committee.