Pittsburgh school board votes against arming district police
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board on Wednesday voted down a controversial proposal to arm the school district’s police force.
The board voted 8-1 against changing the current policy, which prohibits the 22 school police officers from carrying weapons of any type. Board member Cynthia Falls cast the lone vote in favor of arming the officers.
The outcome was expected, as a majority of board members said during a public workshop earlier this month that they would not support changing the policy. Advocates with the Education Rights Network staged a protest against the proposal ahead of the school board’s monthly public hearing on Monday, and, in July, the school board passed a resolution opposing firearms in schools and proposals to arm teachers and support staff.
“Our vote tonight does not mean we are not supportive of our security staff,” board President Regina Holley said. “Our vote tonight will be one in which we are telling our security staff, ‘Continue doing the work that you’re doing,’ but for me it does not mean I’m going to let you strap a gun to your side.”
The proposal first came before the school board’s safety committee in 2016, at the request of the school police, who are represented by the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. District police Chief George Brown asked the board to allow his officers — who are sworn police officers and trained to interact with children — to carry weapons in an effort to better protect students and staff from outside threats.
Ms. Falls echoed the chief’s position that firearms would help the officers keep themselves, the students and staff safe while keeping “bad guys” out of the schools.
“Every student in this district has the right to feel safe in the confines of their school or school building,” she said. “Every employee has the duty to ensure that this occurs.”
But several board members said they were concerned about safety risks to students and the overall impact the change would have on school culture.
“The issues with school police and guns is something that will drastically change the climate of our Pittsburgh Public Schools and increase the stress and trauma related to that stress of the students that we are there to educate,” said board member Kevin Carter, who voted with Ms. Holley and board members Sylvia Wilson, Sala Udin, Lynda Wrenn, Moira Kaleida, Terry Kennedy and Veronica Edwards against arming the school police. “From what I’ve gathered, there has been no more research, no evidence or empirical data that has been provided to this board on the need to equip our officers with guns.”
Board members who voted
against the measure thanked the school officers for the challenging work that they do, but reiterated their positions before the vote.
“I think that officers who feel so threatened that they cannot de-escalate and handle situations presented by school students should seriously consider, perhaps, another line of work,” Mr. Udin said.
Also during Wednesday’s legislative meeting, the board unanimously passed a resolution opposing Chick-fil-A’s sponsorship of the Pittsburgh Marathon’s Kids Race in May. As a result, schools and district employees will not participate in the race in an “official capacity.”
Chick-fil-A has faced criticism for comments made by Dan T. Cathy, the founder’s son, about gay marriage and his call for donations to conservative family foundations. Those “views are contrary to and in conflict with the district’s non-discrimination policies,” the school board resolution stated.
Pittsburgh City Council also has sent a letter to the nonprofit organizers of the Pittsburgh Marathon, asking them to nix the sponsorship deal with the fast-food chain, and an online petition has been circulating asking the group to end the arrangement. “Chick-fil-A is a restaurant company focused on food, service and hospitality for everyone,” the company said in a statement last week. “While we have not seen the school district’s policy, it is important to point out that our restaurants welcome everyone, and we have no policy of discrimination against any group. We do not have a political or social agenda.”
P3R, the nonprofit that manages the marathon events, said previously that it strives to be inclusive of the whole Pittsburgh community and accept anyone who wants to join in its various activities.
“P3R is deeply passionate about and committed to promoting a love of running, health, and fitness in the Pittsburgh region,” the statement said. “Our intent with this partnership, along with all of our partnerships, is to further expand all of our events and programming ― including the Pittsburgh Kids Marathon and Kids of STEEL. This partnership with Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh will help us ensure even more children in southwestern Pennsylvania can learn and share in our love of running.”