Novato’s school officers deserve consideration

Novato school trustees are right to take their time to decide whether to continue having police officers on their high school campuses.

Many other Bay Area districts ended their contracts with local police departments as a reform in the wake of the national uproar over the killing of George Floyd.

Public awareness of the need for reforms in terms of law enforcement and racial equity has paved the way for important changes. The furor over Floyd’s tragic death also fueled a broad and simplistic anti-police sentiment.

That sentiment has generated pressure on public school districts to remove police officers from their high school campuses.

For example, the San Rafael City school board made that decision months ago.

Now it is on the Novato board’s agenda.

That decision should be made after carefully weighing the benefits and negatives of having police — “school resource officers” — regularly on school campuses.

Reforms can be implemented. They should be aimed at keeping those benefits while addressing complaints, especially from minority students who feel they are unfairly singled out.

Many who lobby for removing cops say police officers should be replaced with campus counselors. Unfortunately, that would negate one of the benefits of police presence on school campuses; that of providing a non-confrontational environment where police get to know local kids — and vice versa.

School campuses should be part of community policing, where local police are not just a drive-by patrol, but get to know their community and its people.

All too often, the patrol car windshield separates police from local kids. Removing it and opening doors to friendly conversation and greater trust for teens who need help seeking assistance from police is a benefit of having police officers on campuses.

The Novato Police Department sees such a benefit from having officers on local school campuses.

Those officers, however,

School campuses should be part of community policing, where local police are not just a driveby patrol, but get to know their community and its people.

need to be cognizant, respectful and responsive of complaints that have surfaced about their presence. Given pivotal societal reactions and changes since the police killings of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, police need to react and respond.

Their frequent presence on campus is supposed to make students feel safer, not fearful. Just as important, parents might feel better knowing police are regularly present.

Removing police from campuses isn’t going to make them any safer, especially in times when we have seen far too many school shootings. Having trained police officers on campus could save lives.

Superintendent Kris Cosca is recommending the district keep the officers, but make some changes such as moving police cars away from the front of the schools or having officers not wearing their traditional uniforms.

They also need to address the fearful, intimidating or traumatizing feelings that some students and local residents have from having police on campuses.

By focusing on promoting the benefits while also respectfully reacting to genuine concerns of the program’s critics, a campus police program can continue and make schools safer and promote greater understanding, communication and mutual respect.

It would be worth the effort and change needed to get there.

Novato school trustees are right to take their time to see if there is a potential for such initiative and reform.