Will Fresno schools cut funding for police officers on campus? It’s up for discussion

This story is part of The Pipeline, a series of stories written by The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab that explore mental health, students and their experience with law enforcement on campus.

Police reform advocates and Fresno school leaders are gearing up for a lengthy discussion over a push to cut funding for police officers on city school campuses, a month after Fresno Unified postponed a key budget vote.

The move on Oct. 7 to delay the school board vote on nearly $1 million in police funding was seen as a victory for local advocacy groups who’ve been pushing city schools to overhaul the district’s relationship with law enforcement. Supporters want the district to redirect police funding to beef up mental health services for students.

This week, at least one of those groups said they hadn’t heard anything from Fresno school officials.

“Knowing the district has a lot of other concerns on the table now, it is a concern that we have not had any updates regarding this contract. It does have a large cost attached to it,” Fresno Barrios Unidos Youth Advocacy Manager Marisa Moraza told The Bee. “We hope for more community accountability and engagement when it comes to this process.”

Fresno Unified spokesperson Amy Idsvoog said the district’s goal is to have “several opportunities” to gather community input through February, about five months after the Board’s delayed vote.

Idsvoog said the process is in the “planning stages.”

“Throughout this process, the Board will continue to receive updates, and a return of the (campus police) contract to the Board is not planned until after outreach is completed,” Idsvoog said.

Idsvoog said the district is “discussing support” from community partners but has not finalized partnerships yet.

Police reform push has mixed support on Fresno school board

Trustee Veva Islas has been among the most vocal supports of the effort to change the relationship between Fresno schools and law enforcement. Islas is a commissioner on the Fresno Police Reform Commission.

“I really want to have a community engagement process because I depend on the voice and the perspective of our families in order to decide what is right,” Islas told The Bee.

But critics, including Trustee Terry Slatic, argue campus police help keep students and staff safe. They also note that school spending on mental health-related resources — about $42 million — already far outpaces the roughly $3 million total campus police budget.

Slatic has said he agrees additional mental health funding is needed but believes the money shouldn’t come from cutting law enforcement funding.

“In the climate of 2020, 2021, the idea of not having law enforcement on our high schools and middle schools would be paramount to lunacy and insanity,” Slatic told The Bee earlier this year.

Fresno police reform report will play role in schools debate, district says

Recently both the Fresno CPR and the Fresno People’s Commission both released reports with ideas on how to reform Fresno’s police department.

“What is interesting is that the Fresno Commission of Police Reform report included removing officers on campus. We are hoping this does help the process along because it was a very powerful demand to have been included,” Moraza said.

Idsvoog said the recommendations from the police commission report would play a role in the discussions.

“We need to have a very thoughtful conversation about what are the benefits and what are the consequences of continuing to fund at the level that we are,” Islas said. “What was the original reason why these contracts were put in place? What advantages are we gaining, and what disadvantage are we gaining. We have to think about both the positive and the negative of it.”

Islas said a discussion would help the district identify a more equitable pathway to meeting community needs.

“I just don’t think that the way that we designed the program right now is the most beneficial for our students,” Islas said. “Again, it is because I am seeing data that has more Latino and African American students being impacted and the results of that presence.”

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. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM.