Guest column: Something Special

I was reminded of this column this week. Officer Secret's position may be in jeopardy due to Town cutbacks. What a shame that would be. I am told there is Ledger coverage about the proposed change, but I was unable to find it.

Guest column: Something Special.

To Sergeant “Officer” Frank Secret, who would tell us, every time we nervously dropped Trevor off at a game as his independence increased, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him”.

Comments

[robert t dixon]

Don:

It would be a shame!
As a past Board member, I remember him well. A true asset to the community and friend to the students.

If push comes to shove in town funding/cutbacks, the BOE surely could find money in its budget to cover his salary during these rough times.

Bob D

[Peter Breslin]

The Town sent Dr. Roelle a letter asking us to "fund" the school district's "share" of Officer Secret's salary and benefits- something like $70,000. We were not able to accomodate their request.

If they had asked us before we adopted our budget, we might have been in a better position to help.

[Briefing Book]

Don, The Ledger's discussion of Officer Secret is buried deep in the story on budget cuts. Here is the relevant section:

Town Board members agreed to send a letter to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle requesting the district pay for some of Youth Officer Frank Secret’s salary. Officer Secret works out of the high school but is paid for by the town as a member of the police department.

Town Supervisor Edward Brancati and Mr. Pavalow did discuss the possibility of eliminating the youth officer position at the high school and having Officer Secret on the regular police patrol with the possibility of responding to the high school for any police calls there.

“He might better serve taxpayers in the community if he’s not dedicated to the schools,” said Mr. Pavalow, who preferred having him as an additional officer on patrol. “My reasoning is to have an extra officer out there.”

Mr. Brancati said he would also like to have Officer Secret on patrol but to replace the hours of an existing patrol officer in order to save the town money by effectively eliminating the position of youth officer without creating a new position elsewhere in the police department.

Mr. DeLucia did not want to take Officer Secret out of the schools, noting that this year’s senior class at the high school dedicated the yearbook to him.

“To me, I would never vote to take Frank out of school,” Mr. DeLucia said. “I think we avert a lot of things.”

[robert t dixon]

Hi Peter:

I love you dearly-but please do not give me that line of reasoning. With a $100,000,000 plus budget, there is always wiggle room to accommodate a surprise of less than .007 percent. Proof? Look at the surpluses you have been running.

As always:
Bob D

[Briefing Book]

Well, this might be my day to defend the school board.

I take second place to no one in my admiration for Frank Secret. Regardless, the school board cannot decide on a whim that it is going to assume a budgetary obligation of the town government without putting that budget line item through the normal budget review process.

And having the school board employ its own police force has all sorts of implications for the schools, none of them good.

[Karen Jahn]

Well, we have the capability to hire an additional teacher over the summer ... should enrollments require it.. and we build that "buffer" into the budget. So while we are not talking about "hiring" a youth officer - but rather something on contract or consult.. I have to disagree with those who say they can't do anything about it because the budget is closed. New news always comes up which is why you have a contingency built into your budget. I also agree with JD only on this point..(will wonders never end).. we don't want the school board to employ a police force. In fact we benefit from the checks and balances with a police force member there... not part of the KLSD. That said, time for some talk and creative discussions among town and school leaders to look into why we are loosing someone who is invaluable. Putnam schools apparently have struck a balance which is lawful (under Muni law I believe) so why can't we? The folks need to get this squared away before September...

[Briefing Book]

It's doubtful in the extreme that Mr. Brancati, who is up for reelection, is going to balance his mess of a town budget on the backs of our school children. I can see the Republican campaign on that one now. Mr. Delucia has already indicated his opposition to the idea. So I think it's safe to say that Officer Secret will be back at his post in September.

[Jill Jones]

imho, Officer Secret (Sargeant, actually) is the best. He knows all of the kids and seems to understand them (unlike some of the rest of us) and his first priority is to keep them safe - not only physically, but psychically as well.

I don't really care which of my taxes covers his salary but he needs to remain as a Youth Officer in our schools - or we're going to have even more serious problems.