Chris Burke named top school officer

DAYTONA BEACH – Largo police Chief Lester Aradi sees some irony in the selection of Officer Chris Burke as the School Resource Officer of 2006 by the state attorney general.Burke nearly lost his job at Largo Middle School in a proposed cutback by the Pinellas County School Board. Until several weeks ago, the county had planned to replace all municipal police officers in county schools with sheriff’s deputies, said Aradi.The plan was halted, Aradi said, only after several police chiefs met with the school administrators and convinced them such a change was coming too close to the schedule school openings in two weeks.“It’s still a proposal they will be looking at for next year,” Aradi said.Burke, 41, was given the statewide award Monday by the attorney general’s office during the statewide convention of some 1,600 Florida school resource officers.“Officer Burke embodies the very best of what a school resource officer should be,” a statement by the attorney general’s office said. “His dedication to the children at his school led him to quickly recognize threats to student safety and develop solutions where none had existed before.”Burke’s nomination was endorsed by school Principal Fred Ulrich, three vice-principals and teacher’s representative Leslie Pohley.“Officer Burke has dramatically improved the overall safety at Largo Middle School,” they wrote in a letter in support of his nomination. “His friendly, calm and fair handling of situations has earned him a glowing reputation at our school.Aradi added that Burke “has extreme, true love for children. He takes their safety and well-being to heart.” He said Burke joined the police department in 1989 as a dispatcher. Through the years he was promoted to communications supervisor and eventually sworn-in as a police officer and worked on patrol duties.Several years ago he joined the juvenile division as an elementary school education officer. He has taught classes in elementary schools in the city with health, safety and law enforcement presentations.Early in the school year, Burke learned there was tension in the school between Puerto Rican and Mexican students, according to Ulrich. Burke quickly ascertained who the leaders were of each faction. He brought them together in a regular program on the school’s closed-circuit television station for all of their followers to see them shake hands.Burke then met with their parents and with other students and tensions were eased.Ulrich said students like and respect Burke, that he’s “unfailingly positive and kind, making sure everyone involved feels comfortable and valued.”Burke’s creativity has reduced driveway congestion with innovative traffic patterns and won him praise from bus drivers who now spend less time loading.“The children at Largo Middle School are safer thanks to his (Burke’s) tireless efforts,” the state attorney’s office wrote.Largo has four school resource officers including Burke: Two at Largo High School and one who travels among the elementary schools in the city addressing classes and producing special programs. One drives a colorfully painted Chrysler PT Cruiser police car the city bought with money confiscated from drug dealers, Aradi said.“The connection we have with the children of our community is the foundation for our future interactions as they become adults,” Aradi said. “If we can develop a relationship with children during their formative years, built on mutual respect, it will pay the city dividends down the road.”