Facing a multi-million dollar budget hole, Fresno school leaders are set to consider a string of proposed cuts amid calls from dozens of residents to ax law enforcement contracts that station police officers on public school campuses.

At least two Fresno Unified trustees who spoke out on the issue last week during a special budget meeting said rolling back school spending on police might be a smart financial decision. As shuttered schools scramble to plug deficits while sparing teachers and other student-focused resources, the coronavirus pandemic threatens significant changes to on-campus learning in the fall.

“We are not using our (school resource officers) right now. There are attributes from our agreement with the police department that we are not using right now,” Board President Keshia Thomas said during a special board meeting on June 4. “I agree if there is a way for us to pull back, then we should do that in order to save money.”

The Fresno Police Department declined to comment for this story.

At least 81 comments were submitted to the board during a special meeting ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the district’s budget. Thomas said 75% of the comments urged the district to end its contracts with police and divert those funds into student programs, counselors and mental health resources.

“That is investment that needs to be prioritized with the budget and for our districts,” said Marisa Moraza, a youth advocacy and leadership manager with Fresno Barrios Unidos.

The 2020-2021 proposed budget would put more police officers on Fresno Unified campuses. However, it wasn’t immediately clear how much additional funding schools might direct to law enforcement if approved.

Trustee Veva Islas said the district “shouldn’t be paying for that out of education resources.” She said the city of Fresno should pick up the tab since more than 53% of the city’s budget is devoted to law enforcement.

“I value police. I get the value and importance,” Islas said. “But we are an education body, our primary function and role is educating.”

The calls to defund police departments around the country have risen in the past week - including in Fresno - following the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, which sparked protests in Fresno and across the nation.

In graphic videos posted to social media, an officer kneels on Floyd’s neck and three other officers do not intervene as the man is heard telling the officers, “I cannot breathe.” All four officers have been charged with crimes.

Protesters have called for an end to police brutality and systemic racism.

Minneapolis public schools recently terminated their contract with police.

Moraza said Fresno schools should follow suit.

“I think it’s important to note that cops on campus are not fully serving our student needs,” Moraza said. “It’s known that cops on campus perpetuate what’s called the ‘school to prison pipeline.’”

Are students safer?

Anthony Petrosino, director of Justice & Prevention Research Center at WestEd, said research suggests stationing police officers on campus does not make students safer. WestEd is a San Francisco-based nonprofit research agency.

“We looked at studies that evaluated various aspects of school-based law enforcement, and we didn’t find any positive impacts on school-based safety, and that is the conclusion other people have come to,” Petrosino said.

Petrosino said having a fully uniformed police officer on campus can also become a “crutch” to teachers and administrators who bring in police officers to deal with non-criminal activities on campus.

“The very aspect that they’re there, they become a “crutch” for some of the administrators and teachers who don’t want to deal with the discipline issue, and so they bring the school resource officer in,” Petrosino said. “There are not clear rules on when to be used.”

Alena Cotton, a black student at Edison, and this year’s valedictorian has had experience with her school resource officer and considers herself among “the lucky ones.”

Cotton said, when she was a sophomore in high school, she got into a fight on campus. Officer Melody Hughes handcuffed her and took her away from the altercation.

“I had to be detained so I wouldn’t hit anyone or hurt anyone,” Cotton said. “I was detained for everybody’s safety.”

But Cotton was not arrested. Instead, she said she worked with the school’s restorative justice counselor and the police officer to resolve differences.

“They really sat me down and let me know I have to be careful when it comes to letting people get reactions out of me,” Cotton said. “Because if roles were reversed if I had an older white man officer, I could have ended up with a misdemeanor and verbal assault on an officer.”

Had the officer made a different decision, Cotton said, she may not have wound up as her class valedictorian.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 9:21 AM.