No More Cops On Campus In Watsonville

WATSONVILLE, CA — School resource officers will no longer be on Pajaro Valley Unified School District campuses, the school board decided this week.

The Pajaronian first reported the news.

Trustees voted 5-2 to remove SROs, or on-campus police officers who work with students. Trustees Georgia Acosta and Daniel Dodge voted against.

Supporters argued SROs can intimidate students, and the money would be better spent hiring much-needed counselors and investing in programs that emphasize a child's social and emotional well-being. Critics argued SROs perform a valuable service and keep students safe from threats counselors would not be qualified to handle, such as dangerous people on campus or threats.

"In a perfect world we would have all of the benefits and none of the harmful effects," Trustee Jennifer Holm said. "We must find a better, healthier way to ensure our students' safety."

The first PVUSD school resource officer came onboard to Watsonville High School in 1994 to ensure faster response time to active shooter threats, and prevent drug use and criminal acts on campus, said Kristen Shouse, assistant superintendent of secondary and alternative education, during a presentation to the board. The SRO was also a response to gang activity in the community at the time.

More recently, however, a report from the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center found that schools with SROs do not appear to be safer than those without, but schools with SROs do tend to have higher suspension rates, Shouse said.

She also pointed to a June 30 statement from state Superintendent Tony Thurmond that warned districts that remove SROs should still be prepared to respond to shootings, bomb threats, guns on campus or other serious safety concerns.

A survey sent to students showed support for SROs was split — 38 percent said SROs made them feel safer, 35 percent said the opposite and 27 percent were neutral. Forty-three percent said they did not feel all students were treated equally by SROs, while 35 percent said the opposite and 22 percent were neutral.

Parents were far more supportive of SROs on campus, with 66 percent saying having SROs at schools makes them feel schools are safe and 70 percent saying they are comfortable with their presence. Half felt students were treated equally.

Read the full survey results here.

It costs PVUSD $400,000 per year to place a Watsonville police officer at Watsonville High School and a Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputy at Aptos High School, The Pajaronian reported.