PHOENIX — School safety continues to be at the forefront for many parents this week, especially after the tragedy in Nashville.
The Phoenix Union High School District’s safety committee held its final meeting Wednesday night, ultimately deciding to recommend bringing back school resource officers at campuses across the district.
Phoenix Union did not renew its contract with the Phoenix Police Department in 2020, wanting to go a different direction with its safety measures. The money they used for the agreement with the police ended up going toward developing other school safety measures and safety teams.
The governing board ended up commissioning a safety committee at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year to look at school safety and the district’s relationship with the Phoenix Police Department.
The group, full of parents, students, and staff members from all parts of Phoenix, has met several times over the last seven months. They went through school safety data, talked with some Phoenix police officers, and gathered feedback from community members to figure out what was best.
Renee Dominguez, who has a student with the district and is part of the committee, told ABC15 she wants to have school resource officers.
“Phoenix being such a big metropolitan area, I feel we need on our campuses, a school resource officer at every single campus. Or if we have to compromise, at least at the more larger schools that are known to have issues,” she said.
Katie Gipson-Mclean, the chair of the safety committee, thinks otherwise.
“I’m not of the opinion that SROs are necessary if we have all the other wraparound services implemented effectively and adequately,” she said.
The committee also passed the potential creation of an intergovernmental agreement between Phoenix PD and the district. They added certain guidelines on how that would look, including that officers should not participate in school discipline and giving the district power in hiring, accountability and training of officers.
Although several safety recommendations passed Wednesday, no decisions are final. The committee still has to face the Phoenix Union HS District governing board, which will make the final decision.
