Bridgewater-Raritan schools chief accuses mayor of playing politics with security

BRIDGEWATER – With the new school year less than a month away, the disagreement over security in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District has not been resolved, with Mayor Matt Moench proposing that police officers be stationed at each of the district's 10 schools and Superintendent of Schools Robert Beers saying the district is already taking steps to improve security.

Moench's proposal will be reviewed by district officials and school board members in committees before the next board meeting on Aug. 30, just a week before the school year begins.

"The most unfortunate part of this issue is that it is building the connotation that our schools are unsafe and that's not true," Beers said.

The public debate also has the possibility of "ratcheting up" anxiety among students and parents before the school year, the superintendent said.

In a letter to the community, Beers previously said, "the actions of an elected public official have attempted to create division instead of cohesion."

But Moench said, in a letter to the school board, "true collaboration and compromise require clear communication and goodwill from both sides," though he "cannot simply 'go along to get along.’”

The school district is taking a "holistic" approach to school security and has hired four additional "campus monitors" for the new school year who can manage video surveillance, identity swipe systems, pedestrian safety, speak to the community and interact with students, teachers and other staff members.

Beers said in a statement that the district's plan "has been put in place and has the support of decision-makers within the Bridgewater Township Police Department."

However, according to Acting Bridgewater Police Chief John Mitzak, Beers' statement is inaccurate because the police department has not signed off on any security plan from the school district.

Bridgewater Police Chief Paul Payne publicly announced Monday he is retiring Sept. 1 after a quarter century with the department. No successor has been named.

Earlier:Bridgewater mayor, superintendent split over school security

The mayor is proposing that armed school resource officers and Class III officers be stationed at each school. In a letter to the school board with the proposed contract, Moench said the township is "willing to bear the brunt of the financial burden," a little over $1 million of the estimated $1.3 million cost.

The mayor's proposal calls for three school resource officers, eight Class III officers, two substitute Class III officers and 50% of a sergeant to supervise the Class II officers and 25% of a sergeant to manage the school resource officers.

When school is out during holidays and during the summer, the police officers would be assigned by the police chief "to other functions" as directed by the chief, the proposed agreement states.

In the 2021-22 school year, the township provided two school resource officers, three Class II officers and one sergeant with the school district paying for one school resource officer, three Class III officers and a percentage of the sergeant's time.

Though both the township and school district are funded primarily by property taxes, Moench said the school district's savings "could be redirected toward actual educational priorities, like more teachers, resources and technology for teachers."

A key point in the division between the school district and township is the chain of command.

Under Moench's plan, the police officers would report to the police chief, while the personnel in the district's proposal would answer to Michael Voorhees, the district's security coordinator; the superintendent and the school board.

Moench contended in his letter to the board that even well-trained and qualified security personnel "lack the same legal duties and protections of sworn law enforcement officers" and "cannot be entrusted with the safety of our children in a life-or-death emergency"

But the school district maintains that its security personnel "have impeccable credentials and have held leadership positions in community police departments, the county sheriff's department and the New Jersey State Police."

"These upstanding law enforcement officers are district employees, not private security firm employees," the district's statement said.

Though Moench said the township is "willing and eager to work with Superintendent Beers and the entire Board of Education" he added that "compromise does not mean concession on any of the core principles."

In June, Moench and district officials met to discuss school security after 19 children and two adults were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.

But that meeting resulted in Moench going public with his plan.

Beers then said the issue "has nothing to do with school security."

"Essentially there is an elected official who seeks to act as mayor, the chief of police and the superintendent of schools," Beers wrote in a letter to the community, adding that it was a “political power play” and the mayor was engaging in a "smear campaign" against the school district.

"I am hoping that cooler heads will prevail and elected officials will let the experts perform their jobs," he concluded.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater-Raritan schools chief, mayor at odds over security