On behalf of our PTA Executive Board, representing nearly 300 members of the SMS family, we believe there is a safety concern at our school with the removal of our on-site deputy. While our PTA is supportive of our county schools and maintains the utmost respect for the difficulty of managing tight budgets, we cannot accept that budgets will be balanced at the cost of jeopardizing the safety of our children; therefore, we respectfully request that SRO Bonnie Dolgos be reinstated in her position at SMS for the 2011 – 2012 school year. Salisbury Middle School is located in an area known for its high crime rate with drug deals and gang activity occurring on a daily basis. The unfortunate reality is that students are often tempted to bring these at-risk behaviors to school. For the SMS PTA, the protection of our children, faculty and staff is of the utmost importance. SRO Bonnie Dolgos has proven herself to be an ideal fit with the SMS team, as she partners with SMS administrators in sending the message that crime and anti-social behaviors are to be left behind when entering the school. The primary reasons our parents feel safe about sending their children to SMS are that we have an excellent Principal, Amy Eskridge, leading the charge, plus SRO Bonnie Dolgos on the premises to help maintain safety and security. Our deputy was present every day, working with students to develop healthy boundaries in their conduct, and to make clear the consequences to be faced when they crossed a line. As significantly, SRO Dolgos is medically certified and was able to deal with the four ambulance calls we received at SMS last year. With a challenging and diverse population, SRO Dolgos’ presence was fundamental to creating an atmosphere conducive to learning for SMS. SRO Dolgos is invested in the success of students, and is known for reaching out to our at-risk population, helping build bridges to hard-to-reach youth, while teaching a healthy respect for law enforcement officers by the example she sets. Being active parents, many of our PTA Executive Board had the pleasure of observing SRO Dolgos attending after school activities on her own time to share about why SMS is a safe place to learn. The highly visible, positive, in-control presence of our SRO has been crucial in the reduction of fighting, gang activity, bullying, bodily injury, thefts and other negative behaviors at SMS. As a PTA, it is our responsibility to speak for all members of our SMS family, especially those most at-risk who may lack a voice in matters of importance in our schools. We are speaking for our membership when emphasizing that safety is our #1 priority, for no child is able to reach his personal and academic potential when in fear. With this in mind, not only is the return of the SRO position critical to campus safety, but reinstating SRO Bonnie Dolgos to the SMS team where she has a proven record of success, is a goal of our PTA. In a difficult environment with broad reaching social challenges, SRO Dolgos has helped set a standard of excellence that paves the way for all students to finish on top. On behalf of the SMS PTA, the Executive Board and PTA members respectfully request the reinstatement of SRO Dolgos.