SACRAMENTO – After a month-long effort to get money from the police in California’s largest public school system, the curators of the Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday approved a plan to cut 133 police positions, ban the use of pepper spray on students and divert $ 25 million to programs supporting students of color.
The decision, which substantially reimagines school security in Los Angeles, was a continuation of a vote last summer during protests across the country over the murder of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis. Amid calls for racial justice, the school board cut the police force of 400 district members by 35%, leading to the dismissal of 20 police officers and the chief, who opposed the elimination of the jobs of several police officers.
Tuesday’s vote was the result of months of meetings on how best to reconfigure public security in the district, which serves about 650,000 students. The resulting plan eliminates 70 sworn directors, with powers of arrest; 62 non-sworn officers; and a member of the support team, leaving 211 officers in the district forces.
High school officials in Los Angeles will be replaced by community “climate coaches” who will guide students, help resolve conflicts and address implicit bias.
The school district in Oakland, California, eliminated its police force in June. But members of the Los Angeles school board, who met virtually on Tuesday, are divided over whether to reduce the police presence on campus.
“This is a big undertaking and it required a lot of coordination,” said Kelly Gonez, a board member, “but I know that we know and we all believe that our black students are certainly worth that effort.”
George McKenna, another board member, warned that “parents expect us to have safe schools, and if you think the police are the problem, I think you have a problem yourself.”
In a statement, the new school district police chief, Leslie Ramirez, said the department had already made changes that would limit the presence of uniformed officers on campus. Chief Ramirez added that the new plan has “potential responsibilities, lacks clarity and will result in unintended consequences that affect the safety of students and staff”.
The $ 25 million in cuts will also help fund a black student performance plan, which will include expanded counseling, teacher development, curriculum changes and other programs to support inclusion. Campus police will still monitor schools and be available for emergencies.
Previous district-wide research found that most parents, students and school staff felt that the police made their schools safer, but that only 50% of black parents shared positive views about the school police and only 35% of students blacks said they felt safer.
On Monday, district superintendent Austin Beutner praised the black student’s performance plan in his weekly speech.
“We have systematically failed black children as a country,” said Beutner. “Schools must be part of the solution, because a good education is the most important part of the way out of poverty.