Sheriff’s Office will hire school resource officers for Lyndonville, Kendall
ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office was authorized today to fill two newly created school resource officer positions.
Lyndonville and Kendall school districts both have approved paying the county $100,000 annually to have a deputy work full-time in the school districts from Sept. 1 to June 30 each school year. The districts and the county have approved agreements for three years.
The Sheriff’s Office will post the two jobs and accept input from the school districts in filling the positions, Sheriff Randy Bower said.
The new school resource officers will start on Sept. 1. During the summers they will work on road patrol for the Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s such a win for the community, the teachers and the students,” Bower said this afternoon after the County Legislature authorized the sheriff to create and fill the positions.
Bower said the Sheriff’s Office has expanded its presence in Lyndonville and Kendall, the two schools in the northern part of the county that do not have a full-time police presence in their communities.
The contracts with the school resource officers will include 125 hours of overtime so the officers can attend some after-school activities, athletic events and the prom, Bower said.
The officers will provide security for the schools, and also educate students with anti-bullying programs, anti-drug education and also guide them in using a new STOP DWI Driving Simulator, where students and other users can see the effects of driving while texting, drowsy or if they are impaired or intoxicated.
Medina is the only other school with a resource officer in Orleans County. Corey Ambrose from the Medina Police Department filled the role this past school year.
Holley for the past five years has contracted with COP Security Inc. to have security staff members who are often retired law enforcement officers.
In Albion, an officer from the Albion Police Department isn’t assigned to the school, but several have increased their presence at school buildings this past year.
