During the regular meeting of the Madison County District School Board on Monday, June 2, the board voted to approve an agreement with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) for the 2025-26 school year. The agreement calls for a total of six School Resource Deputies (SRD), with four scheduled to be posted at Madison County Central School (MCCS) and two deputies to be assigned to Madison County High School. One deputy will be assigned by the Sheriff to act as the supervisor and contact person for the SRD program. The DARE program will continue to be provided to all fifth grade students in the district. The agreement calls for the school board to pay the MCSO a total of $331,500 to be applied to the salary and benefits cost of the School Resource Officer Safe Schools Program.
During the public comments part of the meeting, Christi Minor, the Principal at Pinetta Elementary School, gave an impassioned statement in which she accused School Superintendent Karen Pickles of “bullying.” Minor stated that she had been offered a position as an Assistant Principal at MCCS and had accepted the offer. Minor alleged that Supt. Pickles had told her that [Minor] had not been her first choice for the job. Greene Publishing, Inc. reached out to Supt. Pickles for a comment. She said she had no comment at this time.