Riverhead tables school resource officer deal over contract concerns

A deal to keep two school resource officers in Riverhead schools will have to wait.

The Riverhead Town Board tabled a resolution Tuesday to extend its existing school resource officer agreement with the Riverhead Central School District, saying several changes are needed before it can be approved.

The draft agreement would extend the town’s commitment to provide two SROs through June 30, 2027.

Riverhead Central School District will fund its portion of the program with $200,000 allocated in its $218.9 million 2026-27 budget approved in May. The town would cover the remaining approximately $150,000 this school year.

Part of the deal calls for regular meetings between the town and school boards ahead of 2027-28 budget planning so the cost of the SRO program can be more accurately budgeted. At a recent work session, town attorney Erik Howard stressed the agreement makes no commitment by either side beyond the current school year.

However, Councilman Kenneth Rothwell pointed out Tuesday that the draft does not stipulate that the school district would cover the full cost of the program after 2026-27.

“Otherwise, we’re back here next year, we’re doing the same task repetitively,” Mr. Rothwell said. “We should simply table this to have the proper contrast in front of us, so the residents can review it, they can see exactly what we’re voting on, understand how we’re going forward before we vote on the piecemeal.”

Councilwoman Denise Merrifield backed Mr. Rothwell’s motion to table, pointing out a “significant” word change in the new agreement. Ms. Merrifield said the original SRO agreement for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years stated it “may” be renewed for additional years by mutual consent.

The amended renewal agreement says the SRO program “shall” be negotiated between the town and school district in subsequent years.

“The words ‘may’ and ‘shall’ have very significant meanings in the law — may means it could be; it doesn’t mean it’s definitely going to happen,” Ms. Merrifield explained. “Shall means it’s a requirement, must be, so that’s a very significant departure from the original agreement.”

Ms. Merrifield also pointed to a proposed state Senate bill that would create a statewide SRO framework for school districts outside New York City. She said the proposal would allow districts to hire retired officers or troopers as SROs or contract with other agencies, while creating a grant program to reimburse school districts — not towns — for the cost.

Town officials raised several other concerns, including language giving the school superintendent authority over overtime for after-school SRO duties rather than Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost. Those duties could include athletic events, concerts, hearings, evening meetings, proms and homecoming dances.

The Town Board voted unanimously to hold off on the agreement until it receives a clean, fully marked-up contract with corrected dates, a clearer funding structure for future years and language that does not create a long-term obligation for the town.

“I don’t want a disruption in the SRO program, I fully support the SRO program, I want it to go forward,” Mr. Rothwell said. “I just think when we’re voting, it’s not organized and put together in the proper way.”

In a phone interview with the Riverhead News-Review on Monday before the Town Board’s vote, Riverhead Central School District superintendent Bob Hagan spoke about the positive impact of SROs in the schools.

“We love our SROs, they’re wonderful, they do such a great job here and we’re very happy to have them,” Mr. Hagan said. “We’re very much looking forward to continuing that great partnership.”

The two sides initially agreed to station two armed Riverhead police officers in the schools after a series of security incidents renewed calls for SROs in 2023. Those incidents included a student spraying another with pepper spray, four children being called a racial slur at a football game and a Riverhead High School student being stabbed on his way home.

For 2024-25, the Riverhead Board of Education agreed to pay 50% of the cost of one of the two SROs, an estimated $88,000 total, leaving the town to cover roughly $264,000 of the estimated $352,000 cost, according to previous reporting. For 2025-26, the school district and town split the cost evenly — about $176,000 each.

The agreement to share the cost of the SROs expired over the summer, leaving the two sides at odds over who should pick up the tab. The dispute came to a head at an Aug. 27 Town Board work session, when school officials warned the current funding gap could ultimately leave the district with one fewer officer.

Over the last few weeks, town officials have argued that Riverhead residents living within neighboring school districts, including Shoreham-Wading River and Mattituck, are paying town taxes toward a service their schools do not receive. Riverhead school district taxpayers could instead have received a STAR exemption or reduction if the town were not contributing to the district’s SRO program, Ms. Merrifield previously said.

Councilwoman Joann Waski said she wants to preserve money in the police budget to potentially reinstate the town police department’s Juvenile Aid Bureau presence across local K-12 schools, including parochial schools.