Photo by Howard Owens.
Pavilion Central School District is looking at spending nearly $69,000 on a consultant who would visit district schools and assess their security vulnerabilities.
Most, if not all, of the expense, could be covered by state aid to school districts.
The Board of Education voted on Monday to table the proposal in order to first talk with the consultant, Don Shomette, via Zoom during its Aug. 28 meeting.
A couple of board members called the fee "pricey."
According to Superintendent Mary Kate Hoffman, Shomette has previously worked for Oakfield-Alabama Central School District and Geneseo School District.
"This is something we've talked about for five years, ever since we first started the SRO program, and I think about as I'm reading through (the proposal) it's like it's got to be better than some contractor coming in and saying, 'oh, you should do the windows' or 'you should do this, or you should do that,' you know. I know it's pricey, but for me, I was ok with it," said Board Vice President Jeff Finch.
When Hoffman asked if he would like to have a meeting with Shomette, Finch said yes.
"Because we can ask him straight up, why is this so pricey?" Finch said. "I mean, obviously, he must have had that question before, so let's do that."
Hoffman described Shomette as a school violence prevention expert with 30 years of experience. She said that he would visit the school campuses -- at a price of $29,500 each -- and "really take a look at every lock, every door, the windows, check every entrance of our schools."
He would then produce a report with specific recommendations about how to improve school safety.
The proposal also includes a $9,875 fee for staff development training.
"His ultimate goal as part of this," she said, apparently quoting him, "is to 'keep away fear, anxiety and threat of violence so students and teachers can direct their efforts on classroom success instead of personal safety. By doing so, students, teachers and parents will achieve a richer experience and higher levels of physical growth.'
"Now, that sounds very interesting," Hoffman said. "His message is, 'School safety is more than a locked door, a locked window, a procedure for lockdown. It is the relationships you build between your staff and your students.'"
NOTE: The Batavian promised a follow-up story on the appointment of Deputy Trevor Sherwood to the position of school resource officer in Pavilion. We anticipated receiving a copy of the memorandum of understanding between the school district and the Sheriff's Office, which was approved by the board on Monday, and is public record, but Hoffman declined to provide it today. We also made written and telephone requests for an interview on Tuesday, which we anticipated getting, but we were unable to get that interview with Hoffman. So we have no follow-up story at this time.
