School safety advocates applaud: SJUSD extends contract with local police

Perhaps San Jose is past the pandemic-vogue talk of removing police officers from our schools (especially considering the damage it’s wreaked on nearby districts and cities like LA/SF). In a July 7th SJUSD board meeting, members voted to continue an $800,000 contract until next June, which permits individual schools to employ SJ police on campus if/as they wish. Annalise Freimarck of the San José Spotlight covers this exciting vote and SJ’s tumultuous recent history of police–school relations.

Six months after San Jose’s largest school district voted to boot cops off campuses, it quietly brought them back on an individual basis. Now those officers will remain on campuses until June, trustees decided in a controversial vote this week.

The San Jose Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday voted unanimously to extend a $800,000 contract with San Jose police that allows schools to use officers on campus in any capacity.

The decision includes high schools and middle schools in the district. Each school will independently decide if and how they want to have cops on campus, including while classes are in session.

Amid growing backlash and community outcry, the trustees voted a year ago against renewing the district’s police contract in a split vote. The decision was applauded by social justice advocates who said police on school campuses stir intimidation, particularly among students of color, and feed the school-t0-prison pipeline. But the victory was short-lived. The school board reversed course last August and voted to bring officers back, but only as “private security guards” for special events such as football games and dances.

Then in December, the board voted to allow each campus to hire SJPD officers as part of their safety plan in however they see fit, including during the day. Thursday’s vote extended that decision.

This article originally appeared in the San José Spotlight. Read the whole thing here.

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