Superintendent Proposes Adding Police Officers at Milford Schools

While not a part of Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Feser's 2013-2014 budget proposal, Dr. Feser did note during a press conference last week that she has had conversations with Mayor Ben Blake and Milford Police Chief Keith Mello about adding School Resource Officers in Milford Public Schools.

School Resource Officers are specially trained police officers who carry guns and become part of the school's environment.

SROs would be part of the Mayor's budget. Dr. Feser was looking to add one SRO at each high school, Jonathan Law and Foran, as well as two or three additional officers throughout the middle schools.

Dr. Feser had talked about adding SRO's prior to Sandy Hook. 

"Many districts in CT have SRO's in place. It's not a new concept, it's been around for a very long time," said Kathy Bonetii of Milford Public Schools. 

Attempts were made to reach the Connecticut State Department of Education regarding the number of School Resource Officers throughout Connecticut.

Dr. Feser described School Resource Officers as a "wonderful benefit in and out of school, wonderful for the community."

Dr. Feser noted that she agreed with Governor Malloy's recent State of the State speech in which he said "more guns are not the answer," but Dr. Feser pointed out that armed Milford Police Officers are already in Milford Schools, teaching the D.A.R.E. program, as well as being present at other school functions and events.