Fresno schools were supposed to vote on nearly $1 million for police. Here’s why they postponed

In a surprise move Wednesday night, Fresno Unified school officials opted to gather more community input before a formal vote on nearly $1 million to fund police officers on city school campuses.

Trustee Veva Islas said she was informed district staff pulled the scheduled vote after the administration “committed” to having a more robust community discussion with teachers and students.

The decision to delay the vote was seen as at least a small victory for groups who have been pushing Fresno schools to defund law enforcement contracts and invest more money in mental health-related resources for students.

However, many of those same supporters were frustrated that when school officials pulled the vote from Wednesday’s agenda, they also removed a string of public comments submitted in connection with the issue. District officials said the public comments would be included when the issue comes back before the board in the future.

“I’m glad they want to further research this issue of police on campus and get parents and student input, but the community has been giving student input this week that should have given voice at the meeting because they submitted public comment,” Edison teacher Heather Miller said.

While many community members have been pushing for a public forum on the issue, supporters also said withholding public comments on Wednesday added to their lingering frustrations with the public comment process since the coronavirus outbreak forced meetings online.

“It’s a little unclear what more the district wants at this point. And at this point, there is a lack of trust on what this process will do to really spur community engagement and rebuild trust with the community,” said Marisa Moraza, the youth advocacy and leadership manager for Fresno Barrios Unidos.

Supporters submitted more than 100 public comments asking the district to defund police in favor of mental health resources ahead of a similar vote in June. However, school officials still approved additional police funding, further frustrating the advocate groups.

It wasn’t immediately clear what that community discussion on the latest round of police funding would involve Ideas floated during Wednesday night’s meeting included a town-hall-style conversation and a community survey, among others. District officials did not immediately commit to any specific time frame to launch the discussion.

Student Trustee Joshua Camarillo said “students have a difficult time discussing this topic,” and noted that many students didn’t get involved in the discussion during a recent debate with the district’s student advisory board.

This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 9:53 AM.