GLENS FALLS — Warren County’s sheriff is contemplating changes to the county’s school resource officer program, as the sheriff’s office finds it difficult to fill resource officer positions.

The program uses recently retired police officers to serve in schools, but Sheriff Jim LaFarr said the department has found that many retirees don’t want the full-time work of a school job. In addition to being in school buildings for school days, most districts also want the officers to attend after-school events as well.

To continue to receive pensions, retired officers can be paid a maximum of $35,000 for the post.

“The program as we see it today is not sustainable,” LaFarr said Friday.

Hadley-Luzerne Central School has one sheriff’s officer, retired Glens Falls Police Sgt. Chris Eggleston, working as a resource officer, but has an opening for a second officer that the Sheriff’s Office has been unable to fill, LaFarr said.

Warrensburg Central School recently approved the addition of a resource officer as well, but LaFarr said he is concerned he may not be able to find someone willing to take the position.

If the county wants to continue to offer the program to schools, changes will have to be made, LaFarr told county supervisors. Saratoga County has run its program with full-time officers from its department who are trained as resource officers and then assigned to schools.

LaFarr took office as sheriff on Jan. 1. Former Sheriff Bud York had the resource officer program started in 2018 in the wake of school shootings across the country, with most schools in the county signing on. Glens Falls schools use a full-time Glens Falls Police officer who is assigned to school buildings.

Other schools across the nation also added resource officers, or considered doing so, after the 2018 shootings. It Tupper Lake it was done with village police officers. Essex County’s sheriff tried to start a countywide program but was unsuccessful.

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The Enterprise staff contributed to this report.