California debates need for police on campuses
China Daily
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"Black Lives Matter" supporters protest outside the Unified School District headquarters on June 23, calling on the board of education to defund school police in Los Angeles. MARIO TAMA/AFP

School districts take opposing positions on issue sparked by anti-racism protests

When the more than 37,000 students in California's Oakland Unified School District return to school at the start of the 2020-21 year, they will find they are no longer under the protection of campus police.

The decision by the Oakland School Board in the Bay Area last week to eliminate campus police comes amid a nationwide debate about police presence in schools and police budgets, both ignited by recent "Black Lives Matter" protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

But just a day before the Oakland school district's decision, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted to reject a proposal to disband its school police. Even as thousands marched on the streets to demand police accountability on violence, the decisions by two large California school districts reflect divergent views on the matter of police operations on campus.

In a unanimous vote on June 24, the Oakland School Board passed a resolution to eliminate the Oakland Unified School District Police Department from campus.

The "George Floyd Resolution" eliminates the school district police force of 10 sworn officers and 50 unarmed campus safety officers. The measure will eliminate the district's police at the end of the year.

Just a day before Oakland's decision, a resolution that would phase out campus police in three years at the second-largest school district in the nation failed to move forward after the seven-member LAUSD Board of Education on June 23 voted 4-2 to reject the proposal, with one board member abstaining.

Activists' anger

The board members' decision angered many activists who want to redistribute the funding for the police department into programs that benefit students of color.

"We're disappointed & dismayed at the decision that 5#LAUSD board members made to maintain the status quo & ignore the thousands & thousands of students calling for change," tweeted the Community Coalition, a social justice organization dedicated to helping the people of South Los Angeles.

United Teachers Los Angeles, a union that represents more than 33,000 LAUSD educators, passed a motion last Thursday night to support the disbanding of school police and to redirect funds to mental health and counseling for students.

The debate to remove school police comes in the midst of an intensifying national debate about the future of policing after the death of George Floyd. It also comes amid the rising toll of gun violence around the country, a phenomenon that has led some observers to argue against the downsizing of police.

A "Black Lives Matter" protest in Louisville, Kentucky, turned deadly on Saturday night after a man opened fire on protesters, killing one.

Big cities are also experiencing a rise in violence. In New York City, there have been 125 shootings in the first three weeks of June, more than double the number from the same time last year, according to data obtained by The New York Times.

The Los Angeles school district has over 410 sworn police officers, 101 non-sworn school safety officers and 34 civilian support staff.

Funds taken from the Los Angeles School Police Department budget would be distributed "to the highest need schools in support of African American students", according to board member Monica Garcia, who proposed the resolution to cut campus police.

Garcia said getting rid of school police is not going to resolve the institutional racism and classism problem in the country, but she believes policy makers need to do more about community building and investing.

"We have to do something about success for some, at the expense of success for all," she said.