MASSENA -- The Massena Central School District may soon be joining the list of St. Lawrence County school districts with a school resource officer.

Board of education members approved an agreement with the Village of Massena Police Department for an SRO, eliminating one hurdle to bringing an officer to the district.

The next step will be for Massena village trustees to sign off on the deal. 

Trustees did not address the potential agreement during normal business during the Jan. 16 meeting.

Trustees had previously approved the position last year, however the candidate put before the school board was rejected without any reason. 

Now with the school signing off to hire for the position, school officials say they are hopeful the village will sign off on the agreement at the next village board meeting. 

Just who should fill the role is one that has been in debate for some time, with Massena Police Chief Jason Olson previously saying they would not hire just anyone for the role. 

“It has to be the right fit at the right time. The position requires skills and training that not just any officer may have at the time. So we are going to be very deliberate in our choice,” Olson said last year when the board first approved of the deal. 

School officials pointed toward Michael Flynn, the police department’s juvenile officer, as the likely candidate for the role. Flynn has been working within the district for months now, establishing strong relationships with staff and students alike, officials say. 

High school principal Alan Oliver, who serves as the chairman of the District Safety Team, said the team unanimously approved Flynn for the role. 

“We want to express our appreciation to the board of education for your consideration of the re-creation of the SRO position tonight. We as a team and myself personally have worked over the last couple of years with a couple of different superintendents now to work to get this position reinstated in the district,” Oliver said. 

Oliver said the entire team felt the position will serve students and the school community “by enhancing the relationship we already have with the Massena Village Police Department.”

In his address to the school board, Flynn was complimentary of Flynn, saying he has offered “invaluable support for our students in our schools.”

“He has been responsive to our needs 24/7 and has helped us immensely. In fact, he’s very much been filling an SRO-like job for the last year, and he has worked to build relationships with our students and our staff which are invaluable to our district,” Oliver said.

Oliver said that codifying the position will ensure better communication about students and issues in the school and community. 

This would not be the first time Massena has had an SRO. School officials had previously approved funding for the position in the 2022-23 school budget but later said filling the role “had proven to be challenging.” 

Prior to funding the position in the 2022-23 budget, Massena did have an officer in the district at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year. That position was eliminated with the onset of the COVID pandemic and students beginning remote education. 

Village officials then opted out of the agreement citing liability concerns, as well as expenses related to training and equipping the officer. 

Barring any major setbacks, village trustees are expected to finalize the agreement next month during the regular board meeting.