As a Concord community member, I wanted to voice my opinion on the discussions surrounding the removal of the School Resource Officer. Living in the state Capitol should inspire us to set standards that are above other districts. We should be driving positive change that makes sense for every student.
As mentioned during the recent public forum, there are many students who feel having an SRO in the building provides safety, security, and a sense of community. We should be looking at the gaps that are being shown by the students whose voices started this conversation. What needs to be added to our school community to make students more comfortable? What other services, programs, training, and people should we be consulting to ensure that every student has someone they can reach out to?
The board has been presented with studies and articles stating that having an SRO in the school building does not provide a sense of security or community. It is being said that an SRO adds to a pipeline for minority students to be added to the juvenile system. On the contrary, to this statement, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention posts a chart online that states, “The juvenile arrest rate for all offenses reached its highest level in 1996, and then declined 75% by 2019.” (ojjdp.gov)
This government entity shows an arrest rate of adolescence from the ages of 10-17 throughout the population declining. If the government states that juvenile arrest rates are down by 75%, why would we then state that having a School Resource Office increases the arrest rate?
I want to encourage our community and board members to look at both sides of this issue and seek additional information that may be contradictory to what they think or believe. If we are looking at research that shows the negative impact of having a School Resource Officer, we should also be looking at (and sharing) the research to show the positive impact. We can find supporting research to help our individual statements, but it’s in looking at the other side that we gain clarity and perspective.
By breaking apart our community we are continuing to separate each other even further. I believe that we are in a time when great changes can and should be made. We have so many resources and innovative ideas to utilize. We can show not only our community, but our nation, that people can come together to create change without defunding, segregating, or demolishing programs. We can create an inviting environment where all voices are heard and all of our students can grow and thrive.
The SRO program is a good program, but we are being shown that it is missing some pieces. So let’s build on that. Let’s take a good program and make it great. Let’s take our community, which is full of so much good, and make it great by adding to it and not taking it apart.
Can we start an additional committee made up of community members, teachers, students, and staff who come together and listen to what our students say they are lacking in their education and mental wellness? They can then propose various options, with proper timelines and budgetary goals, to help improve where we are lacking. This committee could be the voice of our district, from teachers to students, helping us make positive change.
As a taxpayer, I am very aware that adding programs affects the school’s budget and the taxes within our community. However, in working at a non-profit, I also know that with enough research, there are programs available and creative ways to budget money to help fund additional programs. Let’s take this opportunity to strengthen our school and community by driving positive change and creating a school district that is empowering and inspiring for all.
(Melissa Clark lives in Concord.)