Eugene OR December 31 2020
In June, the Eugene School Board had to decide whether to renew its contract for school resource officers. The contentious decision came at the height of a new racial justice movement around police reform.
After hours of discussion, where some called for the officersto be removed immediately while others pleaded they stay, the board chose to compromise. They extended the contract with the Eugene Police Department through the end of 2020, promising a new safety and security plan by Jan. 1.
With the new year not even a week away, EPD said the district has yet to communicate its relationship with police for response, safety and security come 2021.
"There hasn't been a lot of communication around what the new plan is," EPD Chief Chris Skinner said. "We've pulled all of our people back and we've not engaged in really in any meaningful discussion about potentially what this looks like."
But this fall, the board chose to take a wider look into all district practices and instead create a multi-year safety plan, likely pushing its rollout into 2022.
4J spokesperson Kerry Delf stated the district will keep up with safety and security at schools through secure entries to buildings, video camera systems, campus security monitors and other supervision and calls to EPD when necessary.
Delf pointed out high schools— where the school resource officers, or SROs, were stationed — will not resume in-person hybrid learning until the end of March at the earliest, under the new state requirements that phase in grades starting with the youngest.
"We appreciate the continued support of the Eugene Police Department in responding to any reported criminal activity at schools, while understanding that without specialized officers dedicated to schools the response time is longer," Delf stated.
4J's contract with EPD included four SROs and one sergeant. SROs are tasked with preventing and responding to threats on campus and also help with mandatory reporting of child abuse, mitigating custody issues between parents and provided regular safety training. Perhaps the biggest piece of a SRO's job is to be a direct connection and a clear point of communication to the police department.
The board received more than 1,300 pieces of public comment about the issue. Racial justice leaders and students urged SROs be removed, as national data has shown the presence of police in schools disproportionately harms students of color.
At the same time, with behavioral issues on the rise and outside threats a continued concern, many teachers and staff looked to SROs for safety and support.
The board voted 6-1 to run the contract through Dec. 31, but made a firm commitment to no longer have SROs in schools after that. Delf said because students were distance learning all fall, the contract was not actually extended.
The board originally thought it would be able to form a new comprehensive plan by the end of the year, but quickly discovered it would take much longer if it really set out to address disparities in the district.
"This is kind of our part in trying to undo the 400 years of systemic racism in our country," Board Chair Mary Walston told The Register-Guard on Tuesday, but as it evolved, it became clear the issue went beyond SROs. "It's not going to be something that we can do (quickly), but we can start those conversations."
The new goal is to have a comprehensive review with significant community input.
In an October work session on the safety plan, the board agreed to a roadmap forward on a more comprehensive policy and procedure overhaul that would yield a multi-year plan at the end. The board has since had work sessions with the equity committee to focus priorities and set goals. This year's goal is to "reorient (4J's) discipline and student safety practices toward transformative justice so that all students feel safe at school."
This means looking at district policies ensuring they were inclusive and at school discipline practices, since administrators and teachers are the ones who give students detentions and suspensions, not SROs. The board also plans to look at district data such as graduation rates, suspensions and expulsions to identify any standout issues or student groups disproportionately affected.
It is looking to gather input from the public, students, teachers and administrators, particularly from people of color, in the coming months, Walston said. It still has to form a work group for the process and hire an outside consultant to help.
Because of all this, Walston said the final safety and security plan will not likely be ready until January 2022.
Walston anticipates the district still will have some sort of working agreement with the Eugene Police Department even without the SROs in school buildings, she said, as schools will need to work with police in many situations, such as threats to a school or mandatory reporting situations.
"Having them as dedicated officers (for the district) is really good in some ways because the SROs train, they understand what goes on in high schools, they have relationships with some of the administrators and teachers, as opposed to just calling the first (officer) that's available off the beat to respond," Walston said.
"We want to be very thoughtful about that, and at the same time understand that not everyone feels comfortable having uniformed officer with the service weapon in the building with them."
But EPD's Skinner said it's unclear what the relationship or expectations will be.
"We're going into the new year with no contracts for school resource officers, so, the one thing I do know is that the needs in the school district will obviously be evaluated based on the overall community," he said, meaning the level and timeliness of the response will have to be weighed against any other community calls.
"As we are available, we'll be able to respond to school district needs — unlike before, where we had dedicated resources in a cost-sharing model that assured that the school districts would have a level of responsiveness that kept them safe and provided for a safe learning environment," he said.
Skinner said EPD would like to be involved in 4J discussions about public safety needs in schools and try to work toward "public safety reimagined," so it can meet those needs.
"There are major public safety policy decisions being made in the 4J school district, and they have yet to engage their public safety professionals in those conversations," Skinner said. "And that's where that disconnect is. It's unfortunate, and I think it doesn't continue to foster an atmosphere of collaboration that we're looking for."
In contrast, Skinner said he has been working closely with Bethel School District — which still has a contract for SROs — to address the community and district concerns about police in schools and reimagine that position with those in mind.
"The 4J system is a part of our community, and we do desperately want to be engaged and meet needs, but we have yet to be invited to the table to have that conversation," Skinner said.
Walston said board members noted they want to bring EPD into the conversation eventually, but want to hear from students, teachers and community members first.
"We certainly want to work with them at that point in the process, but I don’t think we’re there yet,” she said.
Walston said the district still has some time to connect with EPD in the coming months, as Lane County remains in the state's "extreme risk" category and students are distance learning.
The Register-Guard
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