Armed Officers Authorized In Chatham Schools

CHATHAM, NJ - Despite some naysayers and a request to delay the decision the School District of the Chathams Board of Education voted in favor of hiring a pair of armed officers to patrol the district schools Monday.

The 7-1 vote came on the heels of a presentation by Chatham Borough Police Chief Brian Gibbons and Chatham Township Police Chief Thomas Miller and Superintendent Michael LaSusa on school security and Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEOs) Class III. These officers are generally armed and are retired officers. The SLEO III Officers would be funded through the Board of Education budget but would be members of the police departments.

" I believe that adding a police presence to our six schools, with a combined enrollment of more than 4,100 students, will provide an additional layer of safety and security for our students and staff," LaSusa told Patch.

During his presentation to the public, LaSusa said Chatham had fallen behind nearby districts like Denville, New Providence, West Morris Central and Hanover Park who have already moved forward with the hiring of Class III officers.

According to LaSusa the cost of paying for these two part-time employees, estimated at around $100,000, would come from the $350,000 boost in state aid the district received in this year's budget.

LaSusa said the next step will be coordinating the hiring with Miller and Gibbons as the three work out what form the position will take in Chatham. One proposed duty structure would have the Chatham Township SLEO stationed at the high school while the Chatham Borough officer would patrol Washington Avenue and Milton Avenue schools but would be stationed at the middle school.

The goal is to have something in place by January, LaSusa said.

Board member Matthew Gilfillan was absent, and Mike Ryan voted no to the motion but President Jill Critchley-Weber and members Lata Kenney, Michelle Clark, Sal Arnuk, Ann Ciccarelli, Mike Valenti and Mary Chambers voted in favor. Ryan said "no at this time" and wanted to delay the vote in order to get more information and feedback.

Not everyone was pleased with the decision. Paul Krieg, a Chatham resident, decried what he called a fundamental change to the school budget.

"There was no discussion of ancillary cost, including the effects on insurance," Krieg said. "I think you should be ashamed of yourselves."

His comments come just shy of the 90-minute mark in the video below.

Weber said that though the authorization was given, there would be several more steps taken and conversations to be had in the ensuing months as the district proceeded.

For his part, LaSusa said it was important to not just focus on school shootings.

"Every year we receive restraining orders against parents or we receive restraining orders against ex-boyfriends," LaSusa said.

LaSusa said now they circulate that information among the office staff and the security officers, but a police officer would be a big improvement in situations that LaSusa says are fairly common.

"Those types of things happen regularly. A person who really shouldn't have access to their own children or to a spouse or ex-partner," LaSusa said. "A police officer would be extremely helpful in those situations and there are many more examples."

(Photo courtesy of YouTube)

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