Putnam County Convenes School Safety Team In Wake Of Mass Shootings

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Putnam County will convene a school safety team "in the aftermath of the awful massacre in Texas and a seemingly endless cycle of school shootings," Executive MaryEllen Odell announced.

Odell said the county will earmark $2 million for the initiative, for which the Sheriff's Department will work with the Department of Social Services and Putnam's six school districts.

"Our schools are the biggest employers in Putnam County and our children, of course, are our most precious resource," she said.

The funding will come from the $19.1 million the county received from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.

The county has been slow to decide what it will use the federal pandemic money for, other than improvements to the golf course, though officials pledged to share some of the ARPA funds with local municipalities and promised a list of projects after April 1.

On Wednesday, Odell said, "There is no better use for ARPA money than to protect our schools and find ways to identify and help students who might be experiencing a mental health crisis before it's too late."

The effort, called "Team Up for School Safety," will start with Sheriff Kevin J. McConville and Department of Social Services and Mental Health Director Michael J. Piazza Jr. working with school superintendents countywide to identify what is already in place and which gaps districts might need to fill.

"There is an undeniable and increasing prevalence of emergency situations in schools, and there is an increasing severity of school violence. Since Columbine, which occurred in 1999, there have been over 287 school shootings," McConville said.

In late May, the Sheriff's Office acted after a student posted threats of violence on social media against Putnam Valley schools, officials said. No one was injured.

McConville suggested a critical review of safety programs and intervention procedures would help mitigate emergency situations. He also talked about working with mental health professionals who are providing services but did not give details.

Among the first items the team expects to review is technology, to ensure that the technology in every school syncs with the county's Bureau of Emergency Services, the Sheriff's Department and all local law enforcement agencies.

"The utilization of technology and personal relationships will further serve to protect our school children," McConville said.

After the shootings in Uvalde, Texas, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department, State police and local law enforcement established a greater presence in schools throughout the county to act as a deterrent to any copycats, Odell said.

"We need to acknowledge that school shootings can happen anywhere, even in Putnam, the safest county in the state, and we need to prepare in order to prevent a tragic event from occurring here," Odell said.

Legislator Ginny Nacerino, chair of the Protective Services Committee, said the effort would provide the planning and organizational structure necessary to prevent school violence before it happens.

"As an educational agency serving students from kindergarten through age 21, Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES shares the county's concerns about school safety and welcomes any and all efforts by the County Sheriff's Department and Department of Health to safeguard the students in our region," said Louis Riolo, assistant superintendent for PNW BOCES.