HOPEWELL JUNCTION — Wappingers Central School District (WCSD) Superintendent Dr. Dwight Bonk is urging federal and state government officials to provide critical funding to support School Resource Officers (SROs) and mental health professionals in public schools. The renewed plea for adequate funding follows the tragic shooting at the Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday. In that latest school shooting, a 16-year-old shot and killed three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, along with a 25-year-old teacher. Another teacher and a seven-year-old student were critically injured.
The appeal is not unusual for Bonk, who has repeatedly called student and staff safety and security in the district his “top priority.” On Friday, Bonk sent a letter to all government officials, reiterating his funding request for the SRO program.
“For several years, I have been asking for this funding to assist school districts in providing a uniformed police presence in our schools; now, once again, another tragic incident occurred yesterday at an elementary school in Oregon,” Dr. Bonk said. “The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority, and I trust that this is the case with our government representatives also, as our children are our most precious resource!”
The Superintendent asked lawmakers to act quickly to allocate funding to ensure both a protective uniformed presence and necessary mental health services across school communities.
“As Superintendent of Schools of the Wappingers Central School District, the ninth-largest school district in New York State with over 10,500 students and 15 school buildings, I am compelled, once again, to urge that federal and/or state funding be made available immediately to support the health, welfare, and safety of our students,” Bonk’s letter said, adding, “Once again, another tragic incident occurred yesterday at an elementary school in Oregon. The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority; I trust that this is the case with our government representatives also, as our children are our most precious resource!”
Dr. Bonk’s letter to New York’s US Senators and Representatives, along with members of the state legislature, also pointed to the financial burden placed on local taxpayers in the WCSD. “In the absence of federal and/or state funding, many school districts may be forced to pay for such needed safety measures through their own school budget, as we currently do, our taxpayers will continue to fund security measures that place an additional burden of more than $1.5 million.”
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