MINUTES OF THE PATERSON BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR ...

Comm. Hodges: I don’t wish to belabor the point. I don’t actually believe my single voteis going to do anything about stopping it. It is a statewide procedure.Comm. Spagnola: It was a little disheartening hearing the rendition you just went offwith.Comm. Hodges: Because it does exist.Comm. Spagnola: That is essentially what you see and that is the way you feel.Comm. Hodges: That is exactly right.Comm. Spagnola: So now I am answering at least one point.Comm. Hodges: I truly appreciate that. There are other points for the sake of time thatI won't go through. But I did cover them extensively in the workshop. My position isclear and I appreciate and respect your point of view on the matter.Comm. Santiago: As everybody knows, I am a sheriff’s officer and being a police officerour training indicates that we are to protect and serve. That is our training, to protectand serve by all means necessary and to be sensitive in issues. We are not to look atanyone of any color differently but to treat everyone the same. In life there are alwaystwo sides to every story. If one falls in the hospital sometimes something must havehappened. But we were not trained that way. The way society is nowadays and theway things are going we can no longer as parents accept the way society is anymore.Staff members, teachers, administrators, and assistant superintendents – parents mustfeel that their children are going into a clean and safe environment. I think that thisdistrict is absolutely doing the right thing by having police officers on ground. I supportthat 110%. I will always do so, even for police on bike patrol or mounted. But this is notthe only district that is using police officers. Throughout the world they are being usedfor many reasons, for the battle with drugs and due to 911. Kids who are innocentlygoing to school to get an education are being shot in the back because someone isgoing ballistic. You find out that a couple of children are being held hostage and thefirst thing you say is are those one of mine? It does not even matter. When thesechildren are in our district they are our children. This is our family. This is our town.But one thing I have learned being in a courthouse is when a parent says you better begood or the police officer is going to get you, I have told them not to do that becausethey are scaring the kids. If someday he does have a problem he is not going to want tocome to us because you have taught him fear. You have taught him not to come to us.We are there to help you. We are there to protect you. By children meeting policeofficers in school we are actually role models. A lot of these students want to be policeofficers, firemen, and attorneys. Some of them even go to college to come back andsay they want to be a teacher. So I just wanted to give my input about police officers.Dr. Hodges, I know exactly how you feel. But I also have a right to defend our childrenin this district and to give my input. I also must let this community know exactly what westand for, to protect and serve our family, our children, and all staff members.Comm. Taylor: There are many parts of this and I believe you told us at our workshop,and I think Dr. Hodges just said it again, that this is something that we started in early1990. Do you remember when we first began to do this?Comm. Spagnola: I believe it was formed back in 1996.Page 31 11/9/05