The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) school board has voted to implement an advisory board in order to determine if the School Resource Officer (SRO) program and affiliation with Tucson Police Department (TPD) and Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) are essential in the growth of students well being in schools. Although this might look like a step forward towards determining a comprehensive plan on the future of the SRO program, due to the historical and current events that we as students and as community members have experienced with the police force, we know that the SRO program, TPD, and Sheriffs are not there to protect us but to further support and funnel students of color into the school to prison pipeline. 

As Yakeleen, one of our students clearly puts it; “As a rising Senior, I have experienced six consecutive years of police presence in my high school and middle school campuses. Although at my specific school there are only a few at a time, a few to many, the budget given to them by the district can be used for something more productive and welcoming for students, especially in low income communities. 

I have first hand experience of the impact police have on campus which is not as prominent as some may believe. Yes, there is always at least one police on campus but the actual efforts made by said police are not adequate for the money given for their position. Many essentially do what a monitor does just with a uniform and a handgun attached to their waist. 

After recent events that have occurred across the nation, it is notable that police are not trusted within communities of color. Due to implicit racism and bias, police are more problematic than helpful. Although many may say that police prevent crimes and chaos, this is not necessarily the case. Police do not prevent crimes, they simply oversee the issue after the fact. For example, during the 2019-2020 school year, there were school shooting threats circulating TUSD high schools. Students who continued to attend school like myself did not feel safer because there were police on campus because issues aren’t solved by fighting fire with fire. Change and crime prevention starts at the roots of the community with supportive counselors, mental health services and communal outreach. 

Especially attending a district with a predominant POC and immigrant population, police do not create an environment of trust or safety. With undocumented students and immigrants, police may even be seen as a threat to their place in this country and their livelihoods. Of course, this can distract them in the very place that’s supposed to be a second home. 

Of course, the safety of teachers and students goes first. That is especially why I believe the budget used for the relationship with TPD should be used for communal resources and support for students, two important components in successful schools and student health. This would create a safe space for students of color and decrease the criminalization of students who originate from low income communities. Thank you.”

As has been stated by our school district superintendent and school board members, schools are often the safest place for students. With recent and continuous events involving TPD and the delay in making the public aware of Carlos Adrian Ingram-Lopez death. Along with the current surfacing of police enforcement crimes around the nation, police on school premises does not necessarily result in a feeling of trust or safety for us. We don’t trust SRO’s/TPD/Sheriffs to be on campus. Aside from offering the alleged protection of students, police on campus result in the criminalization of low income students, which in turn places them in the cycle of the school-to-prison-pipeline. Funding for SROs was implemented to lower school shootings and other crimes on campus but there is yet to be any results or data supporting this claim. 

Our Demands: 

• The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is to indefinitely END all ties with TPD, Sheriffs, and the SRO Program as a whole. 
• The Tucson Unified School District should reject the funding from ADE and instead hire/apply the funding for a school counselor AND social worker for the 3 schools that were designated a School Resource Office, these schools include Utterback Middle School, Pueblo High School, and Tucson High School.
• The Tucson Unified School District should use the money currently being used to fund the SRO Program to fund:
  • Academic supplies for our classrooms and repairs/maintenance to current classrooms. 
  • Increase resources for mental health and funding for school counselors and social workers.
  • Increase funding and resources for monitors including additional de-escalating training and staff.
  • Increase of resources for student health and well-being and an increase in nursing staff. 
  • Increase in funding for student services programs. 

                      We don’t need police presence on our campus!