About 70 teachers protested outside Newburgh Free Academy's main campus last month, two weeks after a student was charged with felony assault against a teacher following an incident in a cafeteria. [ALLYSE PULLIAM/TIMES HERALD-RECORD FILE PHOTO] ▲

CITY OF NEWBURGH — The Newburgh school district is considering a change to its security strategy after nearly all school board members said they do not want to start a School Resource Officer program.

Superintendent Roberto Padilla said at Tuesday night's school board meeting he will revise his draft of the 2019-2020 budget to remove the $600,000 program that would have funded seven armed police officers from local municipal police departments.

School security has been a hot topic lately in Newburgh. About 70 teachers recently protested outside Newburgh Free Academy's main campus two weeks after a student was charged with felony assault against a teacher following an incident in a cafeteria. Teachers filled the school board meeting room on Feb. 26 when two union delegates aired grievances concerning safety that they said the district has ignored.

But the school board and the teachers' union appear to be on the same page when it comes to not wanting police in schools.

"We did not ask for armed security guards, so I agree with not having them," Jen Costabile, the teachers' union's head delegate to NFA Main, said Wednesday.

Costabile said teachers instead want reliable scanners to keep track of which students should be in the cafeterias at certain times; landlines in each corner of NFA Main's three cafeterias; emergency call buzzers in the cafeterias; a reinstated emergency number faculty can call "that does not go to voicemail"; scanned entry and exit into the building for students; and security personnel increased from 18 to 34 to monitor the school's 2,500 kids.

"We want basic safety measures put in place," she said.

Board member Andrew Johnston was first on Tuesday to voice his concerns about the SRO program.

"With all the other measures being taken to improve security, I think we should consider whether this large expense is necessary," Johnston said. "The idea of SROs has been around for a while and the research is very unclear on the benefits of SROs."

The proposed SRO program called for seven armed police officers to monitor 14 schools.

Board member Darren Stridiron said he is not against having armed police in schools, but believes the district would need more officers to be effective.

"You either go all-in or you don't go there at all," he said.

Board member Phil Howard said he does not believe merely having a police officer nearby completely eliminates the threat of violence or makes students feel safer.

Board member Susan Prokosch and board President Carole Mineo were irked by the idea of armed police around young children.

"I just think, especially in the elementary schools, having an armed person in the building is wrong," Mineo said. "It's just against everything."

Board member Mark Levinstein was the lone supporter of SROs. He said he believed the program could improve students' relationships with police.

Padilla said he wants to further discuss what to do with the program's funding at the next board meeting slated for March 21.

"We knew from the very beginning that this was controversial and we also know that this is a conversation boards of education are having across the entire country because we live in a new reality where schools aren't the safest places in America, like they used to be," Padilla said. "I have concerns with SROs in buildings, as well, and I think most of us have to some extent. It's an unknown; a new reality. What does it mean? And how do we ensure that our schools continue to be places that are welcoming to our staff, to our students and to our families and community?"

lbellamy@th-record.com