The County Legislature is likely to support a state bill to provide funding to local school districts for school resource officers.
Yesterday, the Public Service Committee voted unanimously to forward a resolution to the full legislature for approval to express support for such a bill.
Currently, Assemblyman Steve Hawley is backing a bill that would provide $50,000 to each school district in the state to help fund a school resource officer.
The New York Association of Counties is proposing state funding of $100,000 per year.
That would cost state taxpayers more than $2 billion a year.
Sheriff William Sheron supports paying resource officers in schools.
Currently, there are deputies working at the BOCES campus and Byron-Bergen High School and a Le Roy police officer at Le Roy High School.
Sheron said a deputy assigned to a school would cost $111,000 a year, excluding a vehicle, for 10 months assigned as a resource officer. The price climbs above $120,000 for an officer employed for a full 12 months.
The county could be on the hook for additional costs, but legislators yesterday made it clear they expected school districts to cover any unreimbursed costs for resource officers.
School resource officers are armed and sworn law enforcement officers who can provide security at the school but also interact with students and assist them with life issues.
One issue constraining the ability of the county to cover the expense is the property tax cap. If the county exceeds the tax cap, the state won't reimburse the county for expenses related to Raise the Age adjustments in courts and incarceration for 16- and 17-year-olds.
