A contentious exchange erupted during a Bucks County Commissioners meeting Wednesday and brought to light a disagreement over a proposal to place a sheriff’s deputy as a school resource officer at Bucks County Intermediate Unit facilities.
The debate pitted Republican Sheriff Fred Harran against Democratic Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia and Bob Harvie. Republican Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo expressing support for the sheriff’s proposal.
Harran confronted the commissioners during the public comment period about his proposal to assign a deputy to the Intermediate Unit, which serves special needs students across the county at numerous facilities, ranging from Bristol Borough to Quakertown Borough.
According to Harran, Bucks County Intermediate Unit Executive Director Dr. Mark Hoffman approached him on Sept. 12, 2024, about the possibility, with the position being fully funded by the IU at no cost to the county.
“The SRO, the sheriff deputy, would be there … to be able to coordinate with the other 39 municipalities, the other 39 police departments across this great county,” Harran said.
Harran, a former public safety director for Bensalem Township, stated that Ellis-Marseglia declined to meet with him, while Harvie did meet to discuss the proposal.
When Harran attempted to continue speaking after his standard public comment allotted time ended, Harvie, who is running for Congress, advised him his time was up.
The ensuing disagreement led the Democratic majority commissioners to briefly recess the meeting as Harran kept speaking, with a member of his staff recording video.
Harvie chalked up the disruption to the fact Harran is running for reelection.
Later in the meeting, DiGirolamo voiced his support for Harran’s proposal and referenced Act 67, a 2019 law signed by then-Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, that amended the school code to include deputy sheriffs as eligible school resource officers.
“I was up there in Harrisburg when we passed this bill back in 2019,” DiGirolamo said. “The school resource officers, as a sheriff, were specifically put in there for instances like this where the IU, because it’s countywide, cannot go to a police department and request them to act as the SRO because it’s a countywide organization.”
DiGirolamo questioned Harran on whether the SRO would enhance student safety, to which Harran stated it would.
“I asked [Dr. Hoffman], what is plan B? There is no plan B. He doesn’t have the alternate, any other really options,” Harran said.
The sheriff’s office is only one of a handful with countywide jurisdiction and that could fill the school resource officer job for the intermediate unit.
Harvie expressed concerns about the proposal.
“Security is not really the main goal of a school resource officer for the IU because it is nine different buildings in different parts of the county. One law enforcement officer, no matter where they’re from, can’t provide simultaneous security for nine different buildings all over the county,” he said.
Ellis-Marseglia cited confusion about the role’s purpose and staffing concerns within the sheriff’s office, referring to past comments by Harran that more deputies are needed.
“It is a little confusing because Mr. Hoffman did come to me, and he asked me because he wanted it to be a security officer, because teachers ask him all the time why there isn’t a security officer there,” she said. “Then I was told, no, it wasn’t going to be a security officer. It was going to be more for the students, a resource, a person they could talk to, learn about law enforcement.”
She also noted, “I would need to see the 7,000 warrants reduced significantly before I can see putting another sheriff deputy off the street.”
Harran, who issued a press release and video after the meeting, clarified that the proposed SRO role would focus on coordination and resources rather than emergency response.
“Like any SRO anywhere in the county, if there’s an incident, the first phone call isn’t to the cell phone or the SRO. The first phone call is to 9-1-1,” Harran explained. “What this person would be doing is the resource. Remember, School Resource Officer. It’s the R that we’re capitalizing here.”
The sheriff expressed frustration with what he perceives as ongoing resistance to his department’s operations.
“Everything the sheriff’s office does, everything is a fight for me. Everything,” Harran said. “You voted no for safety equipment. Everything is a fight.”
DiGirolamo indicated his desire to revisit the issue.
“I like the idea myself. I’m perfectly fine with this,” he said. “So maybe we can go back and take another look at this and see if we can’t get this done.”
Harvie said he is “certainly willing to have a conversation” about security needs at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.
“I stand ready to work with anyone in Bucks County to make our communities safer. It is my hope we can all work together on that foundational goal,” Harran said in a statement after the meeting.
The Bucks County Republican Committee used the disagreement to encourage voters to request a mail-in ballot, while the Bucks County Democratic Committee called the sheriff’s comments a “circus” that took deputies away from their duties.
Hoffman confirmed to this news organization that the intermediate unit had contacted the sheriff’s office but declined further comment on future steps due to security considerations.
While Harran is an elected row officer, the commissioners must approve school resource officer agreements involving the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office currently has a deputy serving as an SRO at Central Bucks High School West in Doylestown Borough. However, the county will not renew that agreement after the Central Bucks School District decided to have the local Central Bucks Regional Police Department take over the role. Harran has said the deputy in that position loves working in the high school, but he turned down an offer from the police department to continue working in the school due to potential negative impacts to his retirement benefits.
Advertisement
Convenient Legal Access to High Quality Cannabis Just A Few Minutes Away!
