Garrison School Adopts New District-Wide Safety Plan

By Rob Sample

The Garrison Union Free School Board voted unanimously Jan. 7 to approve an amended district-wide safety plan.

The amended plan adds a special patrol officer for the district, through a contract with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, as well as a cardiac-response plan crafted in response to new state legislation.

The newly adopted safety plan can be viewed at www.gufs.org.

A special patrol officer is a retired police officer who is responsible for school security and safety. As such, Officer John Bradley recently began his tenure as the district’s new SPO. He’s a veteran of 25 years with the sheriff’s office, initially as a corrections officer and later as a deputy. His roles included serving as a dispatcher, patrol officer, and on marine patrol.

Superintendent Dr. Greg Stowell pointed out that an SPO’s role differs from that of a school-resource officer – active-duty officers who are also assigned to schools but have more of a law-enforcement role. Bradley’s role as SPO does not encompass issues associated with discipline, academics, or crisis intervention.

“His role is safety, security, being a friendly face, and interacting with kids and making the kids feel safe,” said Stowell. “He’s out at playground and watching the perimeter, does perimeter checks, and makes sure doors are always secure. If there was someone on school grounds or an animal posing a risk, he would be the first line of defense in managing those situations.”

Trustee Eric Arnold said he’s heard from members of the community who said they feel safer with the SPO on campus.

“What I would like to better understand, and what some other people have asked me, is what is the tangible impact?” he asked. “As we discussed as we were deciding whether to hire an SPO, there’s a difference between feeling safer and being safer. You might feel safer driving a car, but you’re safer flying in a commercial airplane.”

Stowell referred to a district-wide survey on the topic conducted by Hanover Research, a Virginia-based firm with a focus on educational institutions. It had 166 respondents, 72 of whom were students in grades five through eight. Additionally, 34 staff members and 60 parents completed the survey.

“Most staff respondents – 71 percent – are very or extremely familiar with the SPO role,” said Stowell. “That’s a lot more than parents and guardians. Only 40 percent had a clear understanding of what the role was, and only 17 percent of our students.”

Although they differed by group, most respondents viewed the SPO role favorably.

“People feel safe at school, going to and from school and at school-sponsored events,” said Stowell. “Very few respondents – only 6 percent – discussed or considered leaving the school because of safety concerns.”

The district’s new cardiac-response plan was brought about, in part, when the State Legislature passed Desha’s Law last summer. This occurred after a 12-year-old student died following a cardiac incident at her Buffalo-area school. The law requires all public schools in New York to have such plans in place, as well as access to automated external defibrillators and training for school personnel.

The district previously had a cardiac-response plan for students in kindergarten through grade eight. The new district-wide plan includes the creation of a Cardiac Emergency Response Team, CPR/AED training requirements, a communications plan, practice drills, and a methodology for continuous improvement.

“We’ll do more,” said Stowell. “We actually made some improvements to our plan based upon response time (during drills) and what happens if a person on the team can’t get there. It’s really helpful to practice and then refine your plan based upon what you saw.”