Proposal Calls For City To Fund School Security

By SARAH GARLAND, Staff Reporter of the Sun
March 12, 2008

In the wake of a school shooting at a Jewish seminary in Israel last week, a group of City Council members is proposing to publicly fund security services at private and parochial schools around the city.

A bill being introduced today would require the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Police Department to provide to nonpublic schools all of the security services currently provided to public schools. The services could include the placement of school safety officers who are members of the NYPD, video surveillance cameras, and metal detectors, according to a draft of the bill provided to The New York Sun yesterday.

Lawmakers would discuss with private and parochial schools what sorts of services they needed and then develop a budget proposal.

The plan was first proposed in a similar bill that failed to pass in 2004. At that time, lawmakers said they had been approached by nonpublic schools seeking security support.

"In this time of heightened security awareness, we must do everything we can to ensure the safety of all our children," Council Member Simcha Felder, a co-sponsor of the new bill, said. Council members Joel Rivera and John Liu are also supporting the bill.

The city already provides some transportation funding for private and parochial schools. The lawmakers said they had not yet discussed the proposal with the police department, which would likely be responsible for most of the added services.

Representatives of the education and police departments said yesterday they could not comment on pending legislation.