The Rochester City School District is considering a centralized command center for school security and more mobile safety units to cover arrival, dismissal, incidents, athletics and afterschool events.
The proposal also includes appointing an associate director to oversee the command center, strengthening the current school-based school safety officer capacity and providing ongoing training for personnel. District officials estimate the plan would cost $465,000 as RCSD prepares for its current contract with the Rochester Police Department to expire in March.
RPD provides officers for arrival and dismissal times at some schools.
Superintendent Eric Jay Rosser said he's worked with Operations Officer Jacob Scott to enhance internal safety within
the district as the contract approaches its expiration in the spring. "The focus is building upon our current existing personnel, our mobile units, technology and our ongoing training to create a stronger, more responsive internal safety structure," Scott said.
During a Rochester City School District board meeting on Oct. 13, district officials proposed the plan to enhance their internal safety and security model.
The district intends to use the existing 2026-27 budget money that had originally been designated for police services and to pursue grants to reduce the cost to the general fund.
Rosser also has talked with community partners about how they can provide support in regard to safety and security.
"I'm anticipating that no later than December, beginning of January, that I will be prepared to provide an update to the board on those conversations," Rosser said.
Contract renewal revives talk of school-to-prison pipeline in Rochester
RPD began stationing officers outside five schools in 2023 after a student was nearly shot on the steps of Franklin High School. It marked a partial retreat from the district's decision in 2020 to remove school resource officers from its campuses over concern that students were being criminalized for relatively minor issues.
That worry ― often described as the school-to-prison pipeline ― was central in recent discussions about the contract for police to be stationed outside during arrival-dismissal times. Jenniyah Jones was one of several students who told board members they felt uncomfortable walking past police each day to attend school.
"We are not criminals," Jones said at a public hearing in August. "We shouldn't have to feel as if we're constantly being watched or feel like we are being perceived as a danger to the school."
The price of the existing RPD contract has been questioned recently.
It uses officers assigned to an overtime detail, not a regular police beat. That ensures the officers won't be called away to another emergency, but it comes at a price: $120 per hour, per officer. That amounts to $868,000 for one school year, with another $100,000 budgeted in a separate contract for after-school events and sporting activities.
— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County. Get in touch at kweaver@gannett.com.
— Kayla Canne contributed information to this article.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: RCSD weighs $465K school security command center | Exclusive
