As debate over police in Fresno schools nears end, community groups push for big changes
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.
Community advocates rallied on Tuesday in front of Roosevelt High School to demand Fresno Unified remove police officers from schools and reinvest the $3.2 million from the contracts into social-emotional services, student resources such as laptops, and afterschool programs.
“I don’t see the alignment when we fund so much of our money to police officers when more than 60% of our city budget goes to police officers, so why do police officers need more money from schools?” said Marinarde Soto, a Fresno parent, and Fresno Barrios Unidos board member, a community organization that has been pushing to remove police from city schools.
Members of Fresno Barrios Unidos have collected over 1,000 signatures for a petition asking FUSD to end police contracts.
The non-profit has also created a community group known as the Fresno Education Justice Coalition to spearhead the campaign to remove armed police officers from school campuses.
The coalition plans on attending the FUSD board meeting on June 16 to present their petition and public comments to the FUSD board of trustees during the June 16 meeting. They expect the board to vote on the contracts that night.
“We are also beginning a state-wide task force of police-free schools in partnership with the governor’s office, and this conversation doesn’t end here. Fresno Unified can choose to be on the leading edge of school wellness, or they can choose to take a backseat and watch this develop at the state level,” Fresno Barrios Unidos Director Ashley Rojas told the Education Lab.
The debate to remove armed police officers from school campuses was sparked anew one year ago after the killing of George Floyd.
Schools around the country have ended police contracts and removed officers. Other districts have “defunded” police contracts while changing how schools work with law enforcement.
Following Tuesday’s rally, FUSD officials issued a statement.
“Fresno Unified is invested in engaging our families and the greater community – we value their collaborative voice. In recent months, Fresno Unified, in partnership with a research team from Fresno State engaged students, staff and parents in deeper discussions and gathered their perceptions and opinions of police on our school campuses. That input was presented to the Board of Education. Next week the board is expected to approve the 2021-2022 annual budget and it will be their decision to approve future contracts. “
Study shows Fresno parents support police on campus
During the fall of 2020, FUSD board members tabled renewing some police contracts for middle schools to understand better how students, teachers, and staff feel about police on campus.
“I think that it’s important to remember that we did have a win last summer when the board postponed the hearing on the middle school (police) contract. By way of postponement, they lost their hold on those law enforcement officers. Middle schools do not have police anymore because of our work, and the school district is now funding 15 safety personnel, security guards, non-uniform, non-police to support the middle school campuses,” Rojas said.
Rojas said Fresno Barrios Unidos encourages the school district to continue that trajectory of replacing armed police officers with security guards.
FUSD’s Office of Access, Equity, and Inclusion conducted two studies to gauge how the community feels about police on campuses.
The most recent study was conducted through surveys sent out to all 71,194 Fresno Unified parents, all 9,014 staff members, and 30 campus police officers. There were 3,045 surveys completed by parents, 3,493 completed by staff, and 30 by campus police officers.
“The majority of parents and staff opposed removing (police) from schools while two-thirds of parents, who reported direct experiences with (police), had positive experiences,” the analysis concluded.
Fresno Barrios Unidos rejected the results of the district-wide study and said the results were “pro-police.”
“It is very clear the funding and resources that went into these reports … could have been used for resources for students who have been impacted by policing that has caused harm,” Marisa Moraza, the youth advocacy leadership manager for the non-profit, previously told The Bee’s Education Lab. “We reject both of these reports.”
Most FUSD trustees have signaled support for keeping armed police officers on campuses, but haven’t ruled out the possibility of changing how police officers are hired and used in schools.
Increase in social-emotional well being resources for students
The coronavirus pandemic, distance learning, political unrest, and natural disasters such as fires have caused long-lasting mental health impacts, health officials have said.
Local and state health officials have reported an increase in suicide attempts among youths.
While FUSD officials haven’t ruled out the possibility of moving funds around, they have noted the district’s spending on mental-health-related services — more than $42 million this year — already far outpaces what FUSD spends on police.
During the new school year, each elementary site will have a social-emotional support worker on campus.
Each school will also have a nurse or health professional on campus daily, a departure from pre-pandemic practices where school nurses handled multiple campuses each week.
Community advocates and parents applaud the district’s efforts to meet the needs of students. However, many still want to find a way to make these resources permanent by way of more wellness centers similar to what students have at Yosemite middle school.
“Superintendent (Bob) Nelson is as aware as I am of the clinical deficit there is in the Central Valley. Which is why we have been advocating for school wellness centers and non-clinical support staff who can serve as mentors, allies, and youth development specialist much like we do at our organization,” Rojas said.
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 June 8, 2021 at 11:37 AM.