Safety, policy concerns clash regarding SRO take-home vehicles

LOS LUNAS — School resource officer take-home vehicles have been a subject of dispute between the Los Lunas Schools Board of Education, SROs within the district and other LLS staff members.

The situation began when the LLS Board of Education made the decision to put a pause on SROs being able to take home their vehicles due to what was identified at the time as budget concerns. However, it has since evolved into a larger discussion of policy issues within the district.

Since the beginning of the school year in August, SROs have had to pick up their vehicles and change in and out of uniform at the district’s central office. After much discussion across multiple work sessions and meetings, the vehicles have since been reinstated.

Aug. 20 work session

During an Aug. 20 board work session, LLS Director of Safety and Security Desi Garcia led a presentation to the board about the importance of take home vehicles for SROs. He cited several safety and budget concerns, and noted letters of support from Los Lunas Police Chief Frank Lucero and Valencia County Sheriff Denise Vigil.

Garcia explained it is not uncommon for SROs to respond to incidents or concerns outside of school hours, so their vehicles are important for this, especially because they have a lot of emergency equipment in there as well as specialized radios that allow them to communicate with other agencies in the county which he described as a “very valuable tool.” It is also risky for the SROs to have to dress in an unsecure location, he said.

The additional overtime pay required for SROs to dress, pick up and drop off the vehicles from central office to then drive to their school site is costly, said Garcia, and would actually end up being more expensive for the district. He said the total annual cost for the take home vehicles is $14,000, which is minimal relative to the total district budget.

“I fear for the cost of $14,000, the cost may be somebody getting hurt, and I would say this take home vehicle policy has indeed saved lives, and those lives matter and they count,” said Deputy Superintendent Brian Baca, who oversees the LLS Safety and Security Department.

LLS Board of Education member David Vickers said he understands the concern, and the budget situation has improved since they made the initial decision, so he is completely in favor of reinstating the take home vehicles.

Board member Bruce Bennett said his biggest issue with the take home vehicles was the uncertainty about if there is a SRO policy currently in place.

“I asked you guys if we have a current policy and no one knew,” said Bennett. “My biggest concern is our policy, in a sense, protects the district and you guys, and that’s what I want to get at; we need to get a policy taken care of.”

BOE president Michelle Osowski said the board was unaware of the total cost, and had they known it was only $14,000, “this may never have been a topic.” However, she agreed with Bennett that a lack of a policy is the main concern.

Sept. 10 work session

When it came to the topic of SRO vehicles at the Sept. 10 work session, Baca announced he was given documents just before the meeting with recommendations that he found “extremely concerning.”

Osowski said she and Bennett put together the documents to serve as an outline of what they would like to see addressed in a policy. It contained guidelines and standards from the New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority, some recently passed legislation and other state laws they wanted to be addressed.

Some of the recommendations included changing the legal name of the SROs, their evaluation and limiting the scope of armed security personnel to LLS premises.

“This actually goes beyond the scope of district use vehicles,” said Baca. “We’re looking at not just talking about acceptable use policy, but actually redesignation of their jobs.”

Osowski emphasized the board currently does not have any policy for SROs, which is a concern because it puts the district and SROs at risk.

Baca said the district has had a SRO program since 2009, and there was a policy in place created with the help of legal counsel. Osowski responded the previous board adopted a whole new set of policies in November 2023, which they are currently operating under, and that this new set does not have a SRO policy.

LLS chief personnel officer Andrew Saiz said the SRO policy should have been brought over with the other policies that were deemed important enough when the previous board adopted the new policy manual developed by New Mexico School Boards Association.

“It would have just been a whole lot easier for us, in my opinion, to revise the policy. Since (former legal counsel) knew, apparently, which ones needed attention, we could have easily addressed those instead of adopting the whole model,” said Saiz.

Osowski said that sentiment is “fair and widely shared” among many, and it’s a concern because it’s left the district with gaps in policy in many areas.

Sept. 17 board meeting

At the Sept. 17 board meeting, James Vautier, a representative for Poms & Associates Risk Services, clarified some of the laws the board brought up at the previous workshop to be implemented in a new policy do not apply to SROs within the Los Lunas Schools district. He explained the district’s SROs are unique in that they are only one of two school law enforcement agencies in the state, and they are cross commissioned through LLPD and Valencia County Sheriff’s Office.

Baca also noted the school resource officers are designated as special deputies meaning, “They are police officers that, although paid by the district, still have all the certifications, rights, responsibilities, adherence to the code and duties as a police officer.”

Board member Sonya C’Moya voiced her concern of a “perception in the community that this board does not back the blue, which nothing can be further from the truth.”

C’Moya agreed they should aim to finalize a policy as soon as possible, but also noted the district still has SROs carrying weapons and conducting their business despite the lack of a policy.

After more back and forth discussion regarding the benefits and concerns of SROs taking home their vehicles, board member Justin Talley made a motion to approve the reinstatement of the vehicles for SROs which all board members voted in favor of.

“Something I’m left very uncomfortable with is who is in charge of whom,” Osowski said following the vote.

She then referred to board policy, which said the superintendent shall have the authority to implement action should a situation develop that is not covered by established board policy, and that it’s the superintendent’s duty to inform the board of any such action and of the need to develop official policy as warranted.

She told acting superintendent Susan Chavez she is charging her with the responsibility of developing strong procedures and guidelines, so that until policy is adopted, it is under her purview, directions and authority.