Shift from sheriffs

According to AVdistrict. org, the funds in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) are earmarked for high need students (English learners, foster children, low income).

If these funds are used, the LCAP must indicate how the services specifically benefit these particular students. The $1.7 million for the LASD contract does not fit this criteria. There is no evidence that sheriff presence benefits any students, nor is there any indication that there is any inherent benefit for high need students in particular.

Whatever benefit LASD provides to students is purely coincidental and has more to do with the individual than their status as a resource officer.

What I am proposing is not just the end of the contract with LASD, but a paradigm shift from policing and reactive policies that target our most vulnerable students: the poor, students in Special Education, in foster care, with incarcerated parents, etc.

These students need mental health support, counseling and conflict resolution skills. How can we be prepared to arrest these kids if we have not provided them with the necessary social and emotional support?

With the $1.7 million we spend on the sheriffs, perhaps we can begin this shift and spend it on programs that positively affect the development of our students at high risk for arrest. We have an officer for each campus but not a mental health worker, or conflict resolution team, even with most arrests being made for fighting. Barron Gardner

Lancaster