In a financial move unpopular with school administrators, state police are suspending a school resource officer program and removing 19 state troopers from dozens of schools across the state.
Seven of those troopers have become staples at schools in Eastern Connecticut, from the shoreline to the Massachusetts border.
State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said the program will be suspended as of July 1, when schools are closed and most troopers are typically blended back to patrol. The move, he said, is expected to save an estimated $1.2 million. Whether the program will return may hinge on the severity of the state’s budget problems.
“This is a program initiated under the Clinton administration with federal funding,” Vance said. “The funding ran out, and we continued to fund it until now.”
Vance said troopers in affected towns will make an effort to stay involved in the schools and continue to provide service in the towns they cover.
It’s little comfort for Norwich Technical High School Principal Nikitoula Menounos, who has grown accustomed to having Trooper Jeff Rogers on hand or at least a phone call away. Rogers splits his time with Ella Grasso Technical High School in Groton.
“It’s not an adversarial role. We bounce ideas off of him and he gives us suggestions,” Menounos said. “If we do have some serious problems, he’s here. We have good relationship.”
Rogers, also a scoutmaster and DARE officer, said he volunteered for school duty because he likes children.
“The key to being successful is to establish relationships, maybe change some perspectives of police as the bad guy,” Rogers said.
When things do go awry, Rogers said the students’ relationships with him, security officers and staff becomes key to solving what could amount to major problems.
Disaster averted
In October, a 16-year-old Norwich Technical High School student threatened to kill everyone at the school and was later found in possession of a sawed-off shotgun and homemade bomb at his Colchester home.
What may have turned out to be a catastrophic incident went largely unnoticed by classmates until notification from school administration.
“One of the students felt comfortable enough to come forward with the information,” Rogers said.
Like other troopers, Rogers said he will miss the school duty, but “will go on the road if they tell me to do that.”
Farther north, in Windham County, Troopers George Vangel and Rick Oenning from Troop D in Danielson keep busy covering about a dozen schools, from Canterbury and Sterling to Killingly and Thompson, as well as Quinebaug Valley Community College.
The area has fewer police departments and resident trooper programs then than counterparts in the south.
“We try to do as much as possible for as many schools as possible,” Vangel said. “We provide a resource for the schools. We could be talking to a preschool about strangers one day, and drugs and alcohol with a high school on another.
“We’re not there to arrest kids. We’re there for education and prevention, to build a rapport,” Oenning said.
Activities
Among the other activities are safety talks, fingerprinting for children, lock-down drills, talks on bullying and a presence at school-related events.
Vangel and Oenning are both parents who have coached sports. They also provided support for a group of Killingly High School students who collaborated for an Internet safety presentation throughout the region.
Naydene Gomes, 17, Samantha Tickey, 15 and Heather Slattery, 15, started the popular program teaching fellow students, parents and even staff about online dangers — things like sexting and cyberbullying.
‘We need you guys’
“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on in this school,” Slattery said, after hearing about the possible discontinuation of the school resource officer program. “We need you guys.”
The pinch on municipal budgets may also lead to the disappearance of two Norwich police officers from the city’s two middle schools. The suspension of the state police school resource program also affects troopers from Troop K in Colchester covering schools in East Haddam, Windham, Lebanon and Hebron. A second state trooper from Troop E in Montville covers schools in Griswold and Voluntown.
Colchester police Officer Robert Suchecki, who works full-time at four Colchester schools, is paid through the town.
Seven of those troopers have become staples at schools in Eastern Connecticut, from the shoreline to the Massachusetts border.
State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said the program will be suspended as of July 1, when schools are closed and most troopers are typically blended back to patrol. The move, he said, is expected to save an estimated $1.2 million. Whether the program will return may hinge on the severity of the state’s budget problems.
“This is a program initiated under the Clinton administration with federal funding,” Vance said. “The funding ran out, and we continued to fund it until now.”
Vance said troopers in affected towns will make an effort to stay involved in the schools and continue to provide service in the towns they cover.
It’s little comfort for Norwich Technical High School Principal Nikitoula Menounos, who has grown accustomed to having Trooper Jeff Rogers on hand or at least a phone call away. Rogers splits his time with Ella Grasso Technical High School in Groton.
“It’s not an adversarial role. We bounce ideas off of him and he gives us suggestions,” Menounos said. “If we do have some serious problems, he’s here. We have good relationship.”
Rogers, also a scoutmaster and DARE officer, said he volunteered for school duty because he likes children.
“The key to being successful is to establish relationships, maybe change some perspectives of police as the bad guy,” Rogers said.
When things do go awry, Rogers said the students’ relationships with him, security officers and staff becomes key to solving what could amount to major problems.
Disaster averted
In October, a 16-year-old Norwich Technical High School student threatened to kill everyone at the school and was later found in possession of a sawed-off shotgun and homemade bomb at his Colchester home.
What may have turned out to be a catastrophic incident went largely unnoticed by classmates until notification from school administration.
“One of the students felt comfortable enough to come forward with the information,” Rogers said.
Like other troopers, Rogers said he will miss the school duty, but “will go on the road if they tell me to do that.”
Farther north, in Windham County, Troopers George Vangel and Rick Oenning from Troop D in Danielson keep busy covering about a dozen schools, from Canterbury and Sterling to Killingly and Thompson, as well as Quinebaug Valley Community College.
The area has fewer police departments and resident trooper programs then than counterparts in the south.
“We try to do as much as possible for as many schools as possible,” Vangel said. “We provide a resource for the schools. We could be talking to a preschool about strangers one day, and drugs and alcohol with a high school on another.
“We’re not there to arrest kids. We’re there for education and prevention, to build a rapport,” Oenning said.
Activities
Among the other activities are safety talks, fingerprinting for children, lock-down drills, talks on bullying and a presence at school-related events.
Vangel and Oenning are both parents who have coached sports. They also provided support for a group of Killingly High School students who collaborated for an Internet safety presentation throughout the region.
Naydene Gomes, 17, Samantha Tickey, 15 and Heather Slattery, 15, started the popular program teaching fellow students, parents and even staff about online dangers — things like sexting and cyberbullying.
‘We need you guys’
“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on in this school,” Slattery said, after hearing about the possible discontinuation of the school resource officer program. “We need you guys.”
The pinch on municipal budgets may also lead to the disappearance of two Norwich police officers from the city’s two middle schools. The suspension of the state police school resource program also affects troopers from Troop K in Colchester covering schools in East Haddam, Windham, Lebanon and Hebron. A second state trooper from Troop E in Montville covers schools in Griswold and Voluntown.
Colchester police Officer Robert Suchecki, who works full-time at four Colchester schools, is paid through the town.
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