School officer agreement updated by La Crosse district

The La Crosse School District says it has revised a memorandum for having local police officers on school grounds, offering a proposal that would be in effect for the coming school year.

Earlier this year, the district had held off on reaching a new agreement for School Resource Officers, because of criticism and alleged harassment of citizens serving on a police advisory committee.

The school district has issued this news release, announcing the change:

LA CROSSE, Wis., (June 4, 2021) – In December, the School District released a School Resource Officer (SRO) Program Evaluation Report identifying a number of actions that would be taken if the SRO program were to continue. These recommendations included the implementation of an SRO advisory committee made up of community members.

The district’s Board of Education accepted the report with the understanding that these recommendations would be codified in a new SRO memorandum of understanding.

In March, the School District of La Crosse suspended the development of a new SRO memorandum of understanding until written assurances were made and steps outlined to ensure that employees of the district and members of the SRO advisory committee would not face harassment and intimidation for providing oversight of the program.

At the end of May, through continued communication, written assurances were provided outlining professional standards for employees, complaint procedures, complaint investigation processes, and agency/organizational accountability and oversight.

These assurances, standards, and processes are memorialized in the new SRO memorandum of understanding. The assurances indicate to the School District of La Crosse that harassment and intimidation of employees of the district or community members of the SRO advisory committee are proactively addressed, are not tolerated, and will be investigated and remediated if it does occur.

The School District of La Crosse looks forward to implementing the changes outlined in the SRO Program Evaluation Report and working with the City of La Crosse Police Department to serve our students and our community.

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