Concord Principal Expresses Support For School Resource Officer

CONCORD, NH — Concord board of education members and the SAU 8 school district will host a meeting next week concerning whether Concord High School will continue to have a school resource officer.

The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3, at the Christa McAuliffe Auditorium at the school. The meeting will also be held via Zoom via this link. The district said there will be ample time for public comment both in-person and via Zoom. The district is also taking commentary from residents via email at concordinfo@sau8.org.

Concord High School has had a school resource officer for more than two decades. About two years ago, the district and Concord Police Department were working toward having a second school resource officer added at the Rundlett Middle School — where there have been several violent incidents in recent years, including students removed from the school after a knife attack in 2017.

The Merrimack Valley School District, which serves students in Penacook village and some northern parts of Concord as well as communities surrounding the city, has an SRO at both the high and middle schools. Some districts, like Exeter, have considered an SRO for its elementary schools — despite having lower school safety violence levels than Concord schools.

Funding for an SRO at Rundlett, which would have been a shared responsibility by the city and district, was taken out of the fiscal year 2020 budget, much to the shock of Bradley Osgood, the city's police chief for the last six and half years, and some school board members who did not even know the position was being proposed.

And then, the Primo "Howie" Leung teacher-student rape case came to light in mid-2019.

The school district pivoted and created a school safety compliance officer position and later, hired Karen Fischer-Anderson, a former Navy victim legal counselor.

The issue of the school resource officer position arose again in June 2020 during meetings the district held addressing allegations of racism and bias in the city's public schools, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and complaints raised by prior high school students. A task force was formed, featuring about two dozen participants, including School Superintendents Kathleen Murphy and Franklyn Bass, Fischer-Anderson, and members of the community. In a report, the task force raised concerns about how students were disciplined and how the district was tracking discipline, comparing the race of the student and staff members, and reviewing bullying policies. Another suggestion was training for administrators and staff members to "process whiteness and white supremacy together" while not offering any specific claims of racist acts by staffers.

At the time, Jennifer Patterson, the president of the school board, who left the board in August 2020, could not cite a single incident or accusation of white supremacy against staff. But, she hoped the conversations, which she said were important for members to have, would lead to a better understanding of the district's policy issues as well as the importance of data collection and support for students, educators, and families.

Members of the task force also recommended eliminating the SRO position.

Osgood, in prior interviews, has praised "the collaborative partnership" between the SRO and the school and said the role was part of the department's community-oriented policing initiatives.

"SRO's are vital in our efforts to build trust and legitimacy in our interactions and relationships with our community's youth," he said. "The presence of an SRO can provide a sense of security for students, faculty, and staff, decrease the need for the school to call 911 for emergencies, and may prevent or minimize vandalism and injurious behavior."

Amanda Grady Sexton, an at-large Concord city councilor, who leads the city's public safety advisory board, also said last year that during her time on the committee, the board had never received a complaint about SROs in either district.

Michael Reardon, the principal of Concord High School, in an email to parents on Thursday, said he wanted to make sure the school community knew about the meeting since the subject matter held both fiscal and political elements.

"As you may be aware," he said, "there are districts throughout the country who have eliminated this position for a variety of reasons including studies that suggest a tenuous connection between having an SRO and the reduction of crime in schools, and, more concerningly, the arrest of a disproportionate percentage of students of color."

However, while Reardon called the issues "serious and compelling," everyone in the school community needed to understand that the most important concern was safety inside the school — which is why he supports preserving the position.

"Simply stated, it's my belief that Concord High School is a safer, more responsive, and supportive community for all our students and staff because this position exists," he added. "I'm under no illusion that everyone shares this position, but, ultimately, it's important that our community as a whole have an awareness of this issue and the opportunity to weigh in on it."

Reardon did not return an email requesting to expand on his emailed comments.

Murphy, before vacation week started, said the district was in the process of putting together data for a presentation during the meeting.

State officials are also looking at approving laws to limit the role of SROs inside of schools.

Concord's new state Senator, Becky Whitley (D-Hopkinton), has proposed SB 108, which, if approved, would require every school district to create a memorandum of understanding between police departments and SAUs explaining the position, potential student disciplines, and a parent or student complaint process.

The law would also restrict activities of the SRO and would ban students from being arrested at school unless "the student poses a substantial and imminent threat to students, teachers, or public safety." The bill also would prohibit SROs from searching students, their backpacks, or their lockers without probable cause or consultation with administrators.

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