Voters will decide in March whether to continue paying a police officer to patrol Lebanon’s schools or to do away with the position entirely.
A warrant article on this year’s ballot calls for the school district to “discontinue the use of a school resource officer” and transfer its share of the position’s costs into the general fund.
The measure, which was placed on the Lebanon School District warrant by petition and certified last week by Lebanon City Clerk Kristin Kenniston, would go into effect July 1 if approved. Kenniston said 41 of the petition’s signatures were valid, surpassing the 25 needed to get onto the ballot.
Asma Elhuni, the Upper Valley activist who moved to Lebanon from Hartford last year and led the petition drive, said the warrant article is meant to support the wishes of some students who don’t feel comfortable with a police presence in their schools.
Students, especially those of color, should be able to attend class without fear that their actions will lead to criminal charges, she said.
“In order for students to be their best selves, to be able to learn, students have to be in an environment that allows them to not only feel safe but to make mistakes and learn like we all had growing up,” said Elhuni, who is also movement politics director for Rights & Democracy New Hampshire.
“If there’s an officer in the school, the message is not safety, it’s a message of possible criminalization,” she added.
Lebanon’s school resource officer, or SRO, position dates back to the aftermath of the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.