(Breitbart) – Portland, Oregon’s Public Schools Superintendent, Guadalupe Guerrero, says he will no longer have armed officers in schools to protect children.
Oregon Live reports that Guerrero will increase “spending on social workers, counselors, and culturally specific supports for students” instead.
Guerrero’s announcement comes after Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty called to stop funding the program that pay for the officers.
That “program provides for 11 armed police officers to patrol the halls of the city’s high schools, nine of them in Portland Public Schools.”
Andrea Valderrama, the school board chair of David Douglas High, is going to put forward a resolution that will “not only nix the school resource officer program but also bar Portland police from providing security during school sporting events and other occasions.”
David Douglas School District Board Chair Valderrama Statement —Divesting from Law Enforcement Agencies 1/8
— Andrea Valderrama (@Chata_503) June 4, 2020
The US was founded w/ a history of anti-black racism & white supremacy embedded in institutions and systems: public safety, education, & housing, which have contributed to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Patrick Kimmons, Terrell Johnson, Quanice Hayes, & others. 2/8
— Andrea Valderrama (@Chata_503) June 4, 2020
The mission of the David Douglas School District (DDSD) is to provide meaningful, equitable, and highly effective instruction so each student grows and thrives socially, emotionally, and academically. DDSD’s core values include diversity, equity, and safety. 3/8
— Andrea Valderrama (@Chata_503) June 4, 2020
I unequivocally affirm Black Lives Matter, and that anti-black racism & white supremacy must be dismantled at all levels of the David Douglas School District. 4/8
— Andrea Valderrama (@Chata_503) June 4, 2020
The resolution will also direct the Superintendent to cease any further negotiations with the Portland Police Bureau and any law enforcement agency for the services of School Resource Officers, event enforcement, training, and any other services. 5/8
— Andrea Valderrama (@Chata_503) June 4, 2020
It will further direct the Superintendent 2 disband in-district policing and security that place police in schools. I urge @cityofportland to reinvest SRO program resources for @daviddouglas_sd into retention efforts 4 staff of color supporting restorative justice. 8/8
— Andrea Valderrama (@Chata_503) June 4, 2020
breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/06/superintendent-says-no-more-armed-officers-to-protect-school-kids/