1. What prompted the increase in safety in the school buildings and what will look different this year compared to last?
In response to the evolving landscape of teaching techniques, technological integration, and broader inclusivity, Chagrin Falls Schools is consistently focused on a critical question: are we doing enough to safeguard our students? Our commitment to pioneering safety measures is rooted in best practices and the core values of our community. Following comprehensive discussions with Village of Chagrin Falls and South Russell police departments, school security experts, the Safety District Advisory Committee, and various stakeholders including administrators, educators, and parents, we introduced security officers on our K-6 campuses last spring as a pilot. As we move forward, Chagrin Falls Schools remains committed to supporting our school resource officer (SRO), fortifying our school safety measures, supporting staff and student well-being, and nurturing a collaborative environment with our schools, police, and the wider community.
2. In addition to the SRO, what police presence is on campuses each day?
Enhanced security for the 2023-2024 school year is already in place, starting on the first day of school, this Thursday. In addition to the District’s full-time School Resource Officer (SRO), who travels to all buildings in the District, we have engaged the Chagrin Falls Police Department to provide a detail officer at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School and the South Russell Police Department to provide a detail officer at Gurney Elementary School, both paid for by the District.
In addition, both Chagrin Falls Police and South Russell Police officers are on our campuses at school arrival and dismissal times and make frequent visits to our campuses daily.
3. What options are before the Board in terms of a new safety officer?
The District is evaluating a variety of options for school day safety personnel that expand on the two Duty Officer positions that will be deployed at the start of school this year. All options would entail the presence of the same trained police officers every school day at both Gurney Elementary and the Chagrin Falls Intermediate School campuses in either part-time or full-time positions. The School District would absorb the applicable costs to hire, train, and deploy these two additional police officers on District campuses during the school year. At this time, the District is coordinating with the Village of Chagrin Falls and the Village of South Russell to prioritize evaluating the feasibility of creating a new full-time School Safety Officer position in each municipality.
4. Where would this individual be each day?
All options under consideration are for two police officers. One officer would be stationed at Gurney Elementary and one officer would be stationed at the Chagrin Falls Intermediate School.
5. Would the new safety officers be hired by the Chagrin Police Department and then used at Gurney and the Intermediate Schools for security?
The Chagrin Falls Police Department would be responsible for hiring the School Safety Officer stationed at the Chagrin Falls Intermediate School campus in the Village of Chagrin Falls. The South Russell Police Department would be responsible for hiring the School Safety Officer stationed at the Gurney Elementary campus in the Village of South Russell.
6. Does the District pay for the police officers salary and benefits?
The School District will pay the applicable costs to hire, train, and employ two additional police officers on District campuses during the school year. These costs include salary and applicable benefits proportional to the hours these officers are deployed in the School District.
7. Do these officers work for the Chagrin Falls Police Department during the summer months?
The District is evaluating a variety of options for school day safety personnel that expand on the two Detail Officer positions that will be deployed at the start of school this year. All options would entail the presence of the same trained police officers every school day at both Gurney Elementary and the Chagrin Falls Intermediate School campuses in either part-time or full-time positions. Some options could include summer hours working for the police department or in training.
At this time, the District is coordinating with the Village of Chagrin Falls and the Village of South Russell to prioritize evaluating the feasibility of creating a new full-time School Safety Officer position in each municipality. This new position anticipates full-time school day work hours with minimal summer hours for training, all paid for by the school district. In addition to creating the new positions, the School District and police departments will draft a detailed agreement defining the scope and responsibilities of the School Safety Officers. Once the Board of Education and both Village Councils sanction this agreement, and the new positions, the police departments will take the lead on formulating job descriptions, managing the recruitment process, and hiring and training two new School Safety Officers as expeditiously as possible.
8. Would the potential candidates be interviewed by both the police department and School Board?
The detailed agreement to be drafted between the School District and police departments will outline scope of duties, role and responsibilities, as well as the specifics of recruitment and selection. We anticipate that the School District and police departments will agree on guidelines for the selection of officers, and that the selection process, hiring and appointment of the School Security Officers will be completed by the law enforcement agency.
9. When do you expect to add someone? Will there be one officer from Chagrin Falls and one from South Russell?
At this time, the District is coordinating with the Village of Chagrin Falls and the Village of South Russell to prioritize evaluating the feasibility of creating a new full-time School Safety Officer position in each municipality. This new position anticipates full-time school day work hours with minimal summer hours for training, all paid for by the school district. In addition to creating the new positions, the School District and police departments will draft a detailed agreement defining the scope and responsibilities of the School Safety Officers. Once the Board of Education and both Village Councils sanction this agreement, and the new positions, the police departments will take the lead on formulating job descriptions, managing the recruitment process, and hiring and training two new School Safety Officers as expeditiously as possible.
The Chagrin Falls Police Department would be responsible for the School Safety Officer stationed at the Chagrin Falls Intermediate School campus in the Village of Chagrin Falls. The South Russell Police Department would be responsible for the School Safety Officer stationed at the Gurney Elementary campus in the Village of South Russell.