School administrators listen to student concerns over SROs

It is good to know they are listening. The La Crosse School District says it will change its plan to eliminate another school resource officer. Amid the calls to defund the police after the killing of George Floyd, the La Crosse School District recently trimmed the number of officers patrolling its schools from five down to three. The plan was to trim that number down to two this summer. Now the district says it will maintain three officers as it continues to evaluate the program. Some students said they were uncomfortable or intimated by having officers in their schools. But today’s School Resource Officers (SROs) wear plain clothes and no longer have a gun on their hip. According to a statement from the district, this school year alone there have been 939 school-based calls for service. Many calls were for more than typical juvenile behavior, involving legitimate safety or legal issues. Having an officer in the schools means a quicker response. What is worthy of note is that the school district made the decision to maintain the three officers for the next school year at the request of the students themselves. A group of students spoke to the board in recent months, urging them to bring back the SROs, even presenting a petition with more than 300 signatures. This decision by the district shows they are listening to the students’ concerns, and working to address them.