Education
SRO program begins another year in La Crosse schools
A controversial partnership in the La Crosse school district is being continued for at least another year.
A new 12-month “memorandum of understanding” keeping School Resource Officers on duty in the district took effect on July 1st.
Reported harassment by police toward local critics of law enforcement put the S-R-O program’s future in question this year. But school superintendent Aaron Engel says the new agreement seems to work out some of those problems.
“With some of the things that have happened, we just wanted additional written assurances so that we could establish our SRO advisory committee and move forward,” said Engel.
The number of police officers assigned to La Crosse schools in the new contract is down to 3, instead of the previous 5, and they will not be stationed at specific schools.
The school system had temporarily suspended talks with police over the program, when citizens critical of police claimed they were being harassed for their views.