Lawrence Schools Introduce New Police Resource Officer

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ - Lawrence Intermediate School students and staff returning after the holidays on Wednesday morning were greeted by new Class III Officer Mike Cseremsak, the school district announced.

Cseremsak replaced LIS Class III Officer Matt Nemes, who resigned his position as of Nov. 21 to pursue another opportunity.

Cseremsak retired with the rank of Sergeant from the Hopewell Police Department in July 2017 after 30 years of service. He spent many years in the traffic unit as a patrol officer and later as the Traffic Sergeant. His specialty was training.

He designed a summer Youth Police Academy in 2007 that continues to this day. Additionally, he participated in the Adopt-a-Cop program and was assigned to a second grade class of Hopewell Elementary.

He has advanced training from the FBI National Academy. After retiring, he became a Public Safety Officer at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Cseremsak was elected to the Hopewell Fire District #1 Board of Fire Commissioners in 2007 and continues to serve on this board. Cseremsak grew up in Trenton and graduated from McCorristin High School. He has an AA from Mercer County Community College in Criminal Justice, a BA from Thomas

Edison State College in Liberal Studies, and an MA from Seton Hall in Human Resources Training and Development.

“The safety of our children is our greatest responsibility, and we are dedicated to our students’ well-being,” Lawrence Township Public School District Superintendent Ross Kasun said. “We are pleased Mike has joined our SRO and other Class III officer as part of our intensified focus on safety and security for the benefit of our students and staff.”

Within Lawrence Township Public Schools, Cseremsak joins Suzanne Girard, student resource officer (SRO) at Lawrence High School (LHS) and Rick Doldy, class III officer at Lawrence Middle School (LMS). Both Suzanne and Rick started at their respective schools in September 2018.

Class III Officers are a new category of security within New Jersey as of 2018. They are armed, retired law enforcement officers who previously served as fully trained, full-time officers in New Jersey. Class III Officers do not teach, discipline children, or investigate. School administrators are in charge of the building. Class III Officers are hired with the major focus of being a visible presence in the school and helping to keep students and staff safe from an outside intruder.

Lawrence Town Council and the Lawrence Board of Education joined forces to find funding in their respective budgets for the LIS position as well as for the LMS Class III Officer and the LH Student Resource Officer.

The attached image of Mike Cseremsak was provided by the Lawrence Township Public School District.