The Middletown Eye has confirmed that the Board of Education voted Tuesday to remove the School Resource Officers, Middletown Police Officers, from the city schools where they are stationed. According to sources, Superintendent Michael Frechette asked that the officers be removed this morning, and sent notification to the mayor's office.
This vote came after a discussion of the recent incident where a taser was used on a student in the high school after the student resisted arrest following the theft of food by the student.
Reports indicate that the mayor's office is preparing a press release on the topic. School officials and BOE officials were contacted to confirm this report, and were not available for comment.
If something happens at one of the schools and an officer is not readily available who do you think will yell the loudest? The parents, students, BOE?
ReplyDeleteI don't have enough information to know if this is a good decision but my instinct tells me it's not. Based on the things my daughter tells me about what happens at school I think the presence of a police officer is warranted. Perhaps the situation requires a different officer or better training but to take the police presence out without more discussion seems like a radical decision.
ReplyDeleteThis issue walks that fine line of what we're willing to put up with to have our kids safe or to feel safe about their school. I can foresee another Mayor/Superintendent battle coming - just the kind of nonsense we don't need when there's a real issue to be solved.
Gee if we could only get rid of some of the BOE this quickly... This truly saddens me because this action shows that the BOE has very little knowledge of what goes on at the school. In an earlier news report it stated that Frechette's office didn't even know about the student being tasered until 2:30??? I didn't know that moving your office Mr. Frechette also meant removing yourself from what's going on day to day at our schools. How are our children going to be protected now??? It's definitely not the job of the teachers! Maybe YOU Mr. Frechette should go in as an undercover boss...lol...and see what actually occurs!
ReplyDeleteIf some incident happens at either school. I hope Dr. Michael Frechette and the BOE will take full responsibility. For the action they took last night.
ReplyDeleteI think this decision was hastily made by the BOE and Dr. Frechette and sends a bad precedence for the future.
Isn't it sad, that what most people consider a worthwhile program (SRO)had to be discontinued because the adults in the community couldn't or wouldn't sit down and workout the differences.
ReplyDeleteNo the adults could, Frechette acted on his own accord and so did the BOE like vigilantes who are not part of the rest of the City.
ReplyDeleteI think it would make more sense to remove this "BOARD" from the schools, then law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteWhat are they thinking?????
Unless the kid had a weapon and was going after a cop, the use of a taser was just plain wrong and an over reaction. The BOE was right to have the chief remove the cops until they can come to agreement on the proper role of a school RESOURCE officer.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in inner city New Haven, went to Hillhouse High, and we had the equivalent of resource officers (they were not police) and they never carried a weapon. These were well trained professionals and knew how to deal with very difficult situations.
ReplyDeleteI attended a career fair 5 years ago with my son at MHS and the police department had a table full of full out assault weapons IN A SCHOOL and were telling students about all the "cool" things the weapons could do. When I complained I was told I was overreacting. I guess I wasn't since the tools of the trade are being used on our children. I can't believe there are tasers in schools--they are weapons like any gun as there are people who die from their use. Yet we have no policies on what a resource officer can carry or how they use the weapons. Disgusting.
Times have changed folks...get with the times... This kid also brought a knife to school last year...I see a pattern here...don't you??? If anyone should be removed from the school it should be this kid!
ReplyDeleteIf we want a culture of respect and less bullying in our schools, then we can't have the adults in charge being bullies, themselves.
ReplyDeleteOur teachers and the SROs need better training in behavior management and behavior modification techniques. I get sick to my stomache every time I hear about how a teacher is using public shaming techniques to punish and control behavior in the classroom as early as kindergarten. When it is the month of May (almost the end of the school year) and the teacher is still punishing a student in her kindergarten classroom using public shaming techniques, when do you think that teacher is gonna "get it" that what she is doing isn't working?
If you want a culture of respect in our schools, the adults need to be better educated and trained in more effective techniques. They are the ones in charge of the school environment, not the kids. And if the teachers don't believe that they can change it, then they need to retire or quit so someone else who believes that they CAN change it can come in to try.