Churchill, Rankin to provide officers
are afraid,” East Pittsburgh resident Erica Yesko said before the vote. “Our children are not in a thriving environment because they’re so afraid of getting suspended or getting hurt by a police officer, and no one is saying anything about it.”
Authorities are investigating whether former Resource Officer Steve Shaulis used excessive force when he knocked out a 14-year-old student’s tooth in an April 2017 incident. Five former students sued the district last year, accusing officials of fostering a culture of abuse, including a 2015 incident in which Officer Shaulis was filmed shocking a student with a Taser.
The new agreements bar resource officers from carrying Tasers on district property and requires them to wear khaki pants and a polo shirt instead of police uniforms.
A district-commissioned panel that looked at culture and discipline practices released recommendations in May to prevent the “awful problems” in the past from happening again. The report floated the possibility of cutting resource officers altogether, although commission members were divided on that.
Before the vote Thursday, several board members explained their positions. Vice President Mike Belmonte acknowledged residents’ concerns but said they were outweighed by “external threats to everybody in the building” in an era of mass shootings.
Board member Chardae Seligsohn said the board would evaluate the district’s relationship with the officers and expressed confidence in superintendent James P. Harris Jr., who was hired last week.
“We are setting a new tone with this new leadership,” she said. “This is not the same Woodland Hills it was a few weeks ago. I believe in us, and if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
The board also approved a memorandum of understanding to take part in the School Justice Partnership, a program that joins schools, police, courts and mental health measures to reduce juvenile justice referrals for low-level offenses and minor infractions.
The agreement encourages use of counseling or other measures rather than arrests or expulsions for students who misbehave or commit minor crimes. The purpose of the partnership is to reduce racially disproportionate referrals of students to the criminal justice system.
The agreement describes resource officers as necessary in schools, but they should not levy discipline unless they find a “real and immediate” threat to students, teachers or school officials. Administrators should oversee student code violations, it says.
The agreement includes the Woodlands Hills School District, the Churchill, Rankin and Swissvale police departments, Allegheny County Common Pleas Court’s family division, the county human services department and the district attorney’s office. The program will collect data throughout the year to assess the effectiveness of the push.
After the meeting, Mr. Harris said misgivings over resource officers are “100 percent legitimate” but added that Woodland Hills is in the midst of a “reboot.” The chance to address those types of problems is what drew him to the job, he said.
“What we need is the opportunity to make it better,” he said.