Several parents and the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in Santa Barbara County spoke out Tuesday night against the Santa Barbara school board’s recent decision to remove an armed school resource officer from San Marcos High School.
Sheriff Bill Brown said he was disappointed with the Oct. 12 unanimous vote by the board.
“School resource deputies effectively diffuse situations ranging from fights, threats, self-harm and drug abuse on campus,” Sheriff Brown said. “Although they are available to provide an immediate response on campus to any threat, their primary role is to establish good relationships with students and faculty and utilize those relationships to avert trouble before it starts.”
He noted that the Dos Pueblos High School officer, George Hedricks, has served in that role for 10 years and has never taken a single student to Santa Barbara County Juvenile Hall. A petition is currently going around campus, signed by students and teachers, to prevent the board from removing Hedricks when that contract is up.
Brown said school resource officers serve other roles.
“They also provide a safe space for survivors of abuse, to report the abusers, and they help parents overcome truancy, runaway and behavior issues with their children,” Brown said. “I respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision.”
He was not alone in his criticisms. Many parents spoke out against the decision, with some saying that they felt blindsided. The agenda item on Oct. 12 was marked as a staff recommendation to approve a new contract, not terminate it.
Speaker Samantha Kona identified herself as a teacher at Dos Pueblos High School.
“If you watched (Superintendent) Hilda Maldonado’s video on Friday, you have to be paying attention to her words and her actions,” Kona said. “She says that she is keeping our children safe; her actions show otherwise. She is taking the SRO out of the school.
“You can’t leave those who created the problem in charge of coming up with the solution.”
The decision to remove the San Marcos school resource officer was fueled by the San Marcos campus group Cops Off Campus! SB Student Coalition. Many students believe that officers on campus unfairly target students of color and other underrepresented groups and contribute to a feeling of unsafety. The group wants to work with the district administration to find alternatives to officers to help provide services for students and support their needs.
Noelle Cabrera, a sophomore at San Marcos High School, spoke Tuesday night.
“Now that the contract has not been renewed, the youth coalition encourages you all to move in the direction of reimagining school safety in a way that does not involve having police on campus and instead putting that money towards a resource that can serve and benefit all students,” Cabrera said.
Board members did not give any indication about whether they intend to revisit the San Marcos situation.
In addition to the school resource officer issue, some parents and teachers called in to protest the district’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
As of Thursday, about 92%, or 1,547, of the district’s employees have been vaccinated. About 5.3%, or 90 employees, have requested a deferral or exemption. The district has not heard back from 0.4%, or about seven employees. About 40%, or 3,124, of junior and high school students have been vaccinated against COVID-19. About 6,100 students, or 66%, have not submitted their vaccination status. About 84.5%, or 2,800 elementary students, have agreed to COVID-19 testing. About 513 parents, or 15.5%, have not agreed to have their children tested in elementary school.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
