Cape leader: officers needed in schools

A security plan years in the making was unveiled at the Cape school board meeting April 27, when Superintendent Bob Fulton recommended the hiring of resource officers and constables at all schools. 

The district has put an emphasis on safety and security, Fulton said, but it can never be enough. 

“Of all of our responsibilities, of all of my responsibilities, this is the most important of them, and one that I think about most and one that I worry about most,” Fulton said. “The worst nightmare is for something horrible to happen to any of our students or staff at Cape.”

The district has implemented a number of safety measures over the years, Fulton said, including camera and monitoring equipment, panic buttons, swipe card access, visitor pass cameras and active shooter drills.

More staff has been hired to help students and staff with social and emotional issues, additional lighting has been installed in parking lots, and buses have camera security and GPS location systems, he said.

Employees have received restraint training, he said, and bullet-resistant safety film has been installed in identified glass doors and windows.

For years, Cape has had a school resource officer at Cape High, he said, and a second one was added to serve Sussex Consortium and other schools. A third SRO funded by the City of Rehoboth Beach serves Rehoboth Elementary, he said.

This past year, Fulton said, the district requested funding for an additional SRO in the governor’s budget and will know June 30 if the request is approved, which is likely. This officer will serve Mariner Middle, he said.

Over the last several months, Fulton said the district has held conversations with the City of Lewes, which is interested in hiring an SRO to work at Lewes Elementary or the new Frederick D. Thomas Middle School.

“A lot has been going on in this area,” Fulton said. “I feel it is time to add additional personnel, not just to the schools I’ve identified so far, but to each of our schools, and to do that by the start of next school year.”

Fulton recommended a constable be placed in any school that doesn’t currently have an SRO or a request for one. It’s not the only answer, but it’s part of the answer, Fulton said. Constables would not have arrest powers, he said, but they would have weapons.

If the plan is approved, for the 2023-24 school year, a new SRO from the Delaware State Police would be added to Mariner Middle. A lead constable would be placed at Beacon Middle, with additional constables at Lewes, Love Creek, H.O. Brittingham and Milton elementaries. 

In the 2024-25 school year, a Lewes Police Department officer would take responsibility for the new Frederick D. Thomas Middle School that opens that year. An SRO would serve Beacon Middle, and constables would oversee the remaining elementary schools.

A safety and security grant from the state, currently at $416,000, would go toward funding the personnel, Fulton said. The amount is not guaranteed every year, he said, noting he would be surprised if the funding went away and would not be surprised if it increased.

Another $300,000 in local funding would be used if the state grant is not enough, Fulton said.

Fulton said he would present additional information at the next board meeting, including a timeline for posting and hiring personnel, roles and responsibilities for the positions, salary and funding source, training and certifications for personnel, and equipment needed, such as office space, uniforms, firearms and computers.

Board members Bill Collick, Janet Maull-Martin and Jessica Tyndall said they appreciated the proactive plan, and Alison Myers and Janis Hanwell said legislation recently opened up to give flexibility to each district to use security funding for personnel, and not just on hardening the buildings and technology.

During public comment, Greg Fuller, president of Fraternal Order of Police Sussex County Lodge 2, commended the plan.

“It’s almost like a genie was in the room, we rubbed the magic lamp and got our wish,” Fuller said of the lodge members in attendance.

Fuller said he was going to read a 2017 Cape Gazette article that detailed a school board discussion regarding hiring constables, but now he doesn’t have to.

“All that we ask is that you protect our children and you’ll have all the support from Lodge 2,” Fuller said. “You’ll have every support you need. If you need to go to Leg Hall, we know some people too. You need money, whatever it is. But protect the children.”

Fulton said a vote to take action on the plan will be on the Thursday, May 11 meeting agenda.

In a statement after the meeting, Fulton said the district has worked over the past several years to improve its safety and security plan with a multi-faceted approach by adding security personnel in the form of SROs and many other safety measures.  

“We feel that this approach is most effective because it casts a wider net to identify and resolve the many complex issues and causes of school violence,” he said. 

“With other aspects of our plan coming together and a recent change in rules allowing for us to hire personnel from our state safety and security grant funds, we felt that this was the perfect time to move forward and recommend this more comprehensive plan to our board of education,” Fulton said.

The plan’s progress will be shared with the board and others leading up to the 2023-24 school year, Fulton said.