TUSD to discuss the use of officers in schools amid defunding police movement

TUSD will discuss the use of school resource officers on its campuses as the movement to defund police gains traction in Tucson and across the country.

Governing Board President Kristel Foster says she is reconsidering her decision to support school resource officers, explaining that it was based on her fear of school shootings and the need to protect students.

She’d like to hear students’ thoughts and ideas on whether having officers on campus makes them feel safe or more vulnerable, she said during a virtual June 9 board meeting.

“I imagine having a police officer — not any particular one but just the police in general — what that uniform symbolizes in these vulnerable students’ lives everyday, that this cannot be easy,” she said. “And we’re asking them to come to our schools every day to this space and feel safe with an authority figure that threatens their very existence. So my vote to support police officers on our campuses has been about me and my fears for them, not about their fears.”

Last school year, TUSD had 24 safety officers employed by the district and 12 school resource officers, who are law enforcement with either Tucson Police or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

These officers deal with everything from intruders on school campuses at night to safety concerns with students.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

The call to defund police is gaining traction nationwide and is extending to schools, following a national outcry over police killings and brutality directed toward black people and people of color.

Minneapolis public schools terminated their contract with the city’s police department on June 2, following George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis officer.

During the call to the audience portion of TUSD’s meeting on Tuesday, there were a handful of comments from parents, TUSD alum, educators and a former school volunteer on removing officers from schools, saying they cause fear in students and are ineffective, as well as citing disparate disciplinary measures students of color face.

Adelita Grijalva said the board would be speaking about this issue at their next meeting on June 16 at 5 p.m.

The only other board member who directly addressed the issue was Bruce Burke, who said he understands the concerns and supports Black Lives Matter but is not prepared to take a position on removing police from schools.

“I think we have to be very careful when we come to a decision about our own community,” Burke said. “With respect to our community policing, which I think in this community has served us well, so I’m not prepared to make a judgement at this time.”