Statement from Saratoga Parents for Safer Schools

1. Adding 1 more SRO is woefully inadequate

2. The National Association of School Resource Officers recommends a MINIMUM of

1 SRO per 1000 students. Saratoga Springs School District has 6000 students.

That would mean 6 SRO minimum for the district

3. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission's draft report

recommends the following:

“There shall be a minimum of at least one law enforcement officer on every middle
and high school campus and a minimum of one law enforcement officer or Guardian
on every elementary school campus.” (pg. 92)

“Each allocation of law enforcement officer/Guardians should be staffed sufficiently

to provide for an immediate backup and an appropriate timely response consistent
with the circumstances of an emergency situation." (pg. 92)

Based on the recommendation from MSD Public Safety Commission our district
should have 8 SRO/Armed Security Guards AT A MINIMUM. And clearly would
prefer far more than 8 due to the need for there to be onsite backup available for
emergency situations

4. The panel admitted that preventative measures, which is their focus, could not
guarantee students safety 100%

5. The panel admitted that the school is less safe today than it was 1 year ago

6. The panel admitted that having a limited number of armed security staff presents
a problem when that staff goes on vacation, or calls out sick. On the days when
Officer Davis, for example, goes on vacation, there is no security at the high school

7. While we appreciate the district taking the initiative to determine its security
needs, this organization will not accept any "token" effort to add an inadequate
amount of security to our school. It is very clear that the purpose of the forum was
to try to pacify parents, by convincing them that the school is secured well
enough. Our organization disagrees.

8. Our organization supports Asst. Catone's suggestion that there should be a mix of
SRO and Armed Security Staff at every school in the district.

9. Our organization believes that the district should hire 8 SRO, and transition the
10-14 Grounds Monitors to the School Security Officer role.
10.
A. School Security Officers must be retired or active duty law enforcement.

B. They must be tied into the emergency management system.

C. They must meet all the standards set forth by HR 218.

D. They must have an active conceal carry permit.

E. They must complete SRO and SSO training offered by NASRO.

F. They must continually participate in active shooter training with the SSPD.

G. They should be reservists in the SSPD and SCSD.

11. We believe that the combination SRO and SSO model is the best way to assure
safety in our schools. We also believe that the SSO designation will address the
concerns some parents in the district have about ongoing training for retired
officers. Our organization believes that this is the best compromise approach to
address school safety and adequately addresses the concerns of most of our
community.