Chicago public schools remove school resource officers
Chicago IL February 6 2024 A Chicago high school principal reacted to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s support for removing police officers from schools by saying officers are in schools that “want them” there.
William Howard Taft High School Principal Mark Grishaber told Fox News Digital the removal of school resource officers (SRO) at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), should ultimately be a decision determined by Local School Councils (LSC) as opposed to the Board of Education.
“Let each school’s LSC decide if they want to retain their SRO’s or let them go. Many years ago the system was broke, but through the efforts of Jadine Chou and CPS, the SRO’s are now in the schools that want them and the SRO’s are now trained,” Grishaber said in an email to Fox News Digital.
In an interview, Johnson said he supported the decision by the Board of Education to end a contract with the Chicago Police Department.
“The Board of Education is moving in the direction that I do support,” the mayor said. “There is an intergovernmental agreement between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department. To end that agreement, there’s no qualms from me there.”
Earlier in January, the Chicago Board of Education was reportedly seeking to strip Local School Councils, organizations made up of parents, teachers, and students, of their power to choose whether to have SROs at their schools. After taking the decision away from local councils, the board will remove all officers from school grounds, according to local outlet WBEZ.
Alderman Nicholas Sposato had reportedly already been told that CPS would not opt out of renewing its contract with the Chicago Police Department.
“They told me there’s going to be no SROs,” Sposato said. “So much for democracy with the decision to get rid of SROs.”
Sposato also said the move would be a “terrible idea.”
The Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank that tracks policy decisions in the state, said, “Local School Councils already have the power to remove officers, but district leaders are taking away that local control.”
“Each school in CPS is different. Principals and other community members on Local School Councils understand the environment and needs of their schools. They are best equipped to determine the necessity of school resource officers,” the group added.
Principals were reportedly told by CPS officials to prepare for the potential removal of police officers by next fall.
Principal Grishaber told Fox News Digital it is in the “best interest” of each school and for the safety of the students that “the Mayor and the Board listen to and honor how each LSC votes.”
“If the Mayor and the Board really believe what they say, that the safety of our students is their number one concern and the Mayor and the board really believe in listening to student and community voices then the decision should be crystal clear,” he said.
After the CPS formed a $10.3 million contract with the police department, their relationship has been viewed as controversial.
The Chicago Teachers Union, (CTU) advocated for police officers to be removed from schools in 2020, amid the George Floyd protests.
“These students along with the parents, teachers and staff that support them have looked at the data, experienced the brutality and are calling for police-free schools,” the CTU said in a statement in June 2020.
When running for mayor, Johnson condemned police officers being on school grounds, saying that “armed officers have no place in schools, in communities already struggling with over-incarceration, criminalization, profiling and mistrust.”
However, Johnson later supported local school councils voting on the presence of police officers in schools after being elected.
Some schools opted to remove officers from their premises in 2020. Grishaber’s William Taft Howard High School was among the few that voted to keep them. He previously shared concerns about the potential decision, saying safety is their primary concern.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson supported the public school district’s “direction” to remove police from schools.
He cited a survey showing that parents, faculty, and students at his school support police officers in schools 80-90%. He added that despite support for SROs, he had been told the board had already “made its decision.”
“The SRO’s now understand what it is like to be an integral part of a school community. I believe President Shi and all the board members were all once on an LSC,” Grishaber told Fox News Digital.
He added that they “understand the importance of having localized discourse, accountability and voice when it comes to what is best for their school.”
“I trust going forward the Mayor and the board will reconsider their stance,” he said.
William Howard Taft High School is one of 151 high schools in CPS and serves over 4,000 students. CPS presides over 646 schools and 300,000 students.
As an alternative to school officers, CPS officials are determining whether to have “roving units” of police officers that would patrol the areas surrounding schools as a way to respond to any threats to students.
The Chicago Board of Education will reportedly vote this summer on whether to renew the police contract.
Mayor Johnson’s office did not immediately respond for comment.
