Voters across New York State head to the polls Tuesday to vote on their local school budget proposals. As our Matt Hunter reports, in a number of Capital Region districts, voters will be deciding whether to spend the money to have a full-time police officer stationed at the school.

MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. – Three months later, the deadly shooting at Parkland, Fla.'s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is still on the minds of many local students.

"They watch social media, they look at a Parkland and they wonder some days when they come to school, 'am I safe?' " said Kenneth Cooper, Jr., a deputy at the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office for the past 30 years.

Even before the Parkland shooting claimed 17 lives, Cooper says he and his colleagues had been a regular presence at Capital Region schools every day.

"When those kids get off that bus in the morning, they see a sheriff‘s car parked out in front, and at the end of the day when they are getting on the buses, they also see a sheriff's car in the front," Cooper said.

Cooper has been the sheriff's office's official school liaison for the past 4 1/2 years. He's an especially routine presence at Mechanicville High School, where he coaches two sports teams when he's off-duty.

"The safety and security of our students and staff is always our number-one issue,” said Dr. Michael McCarthy, superintendent of the Mechanicville City School District. “With some of the things that have gone on nationally, their presence is even more appreciated."

If Mechanicville's school budget proposal passes as expected Tuesday, the district will hire a full-time school resource officer starting in the fall. Administrators first considered the idea after Sheriff Michael Zurlo told local schools his office would provide the manpower if the districts covered most of the cost.

"Really, we were on board right away as soon as we knew it would be available. For us, it was a no-brainer," McCarthy said.

Mechanicville is just one of the more than half-dozen local districts where voters will decide Tuesday whether to spend the money on hiring a full-time school resource officer. Four of those schools alone are in Saratoga County.

"I am certainly hopeful and I do believe the parents in our community are on board, definitely," McCarthy said.

While being on site full-time would allow law enforcement to respond quicker in the event of an incident, Cooper hopes it will mostly deter anyone from trying to cause harm and provide peace of mind to the school community.

"The schools are safe, but let’s just make sure that by having a sheriff’s deputy here, they are that much safer,” Cooper said.