DENVER — The Denver Public Schools Board of Education voted earlier this month to remove student resource officers from campuses, thus ending the district’s contract with the Denver Police Department.
The resolution was approved unanimously, KDVR reported.
It calls on the board and superintendent to reduce the number of school resource officers in district schools by 25 percent by the end of 2020 and to terminate DPS’ contract with DPD for services of school resource officers by the end of next school year.
DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova issued the following statement after the vote:
“George Floyd’s death, and every tragic death of Black people at the hands of law enforcement, have brought to light how we as a district can respond and do more for our students of color. Ever since the issue of removing school resource officers was first raised, I emphasized how critical it is to hear from many different voices in the community. We heard from several stakeholders tonight, with pros and cons on both sides. It’s important to think about the full context here: strong safety resources on our campuses; trusting relationships with the adults in our schools; and the urgent and absolute need to end the school-to-prison pipeline. I believe the board has voted on this resolution with the best interest of students at heart.
There is absolutely nothing more important than all of our students feeling safe, cared for, and protected in our schools. An education does not happen without that. Our students need to trust the adults who are on our campuses with them. I appreciate the board’s forcefulness and tenacity in bringing this issue forward.”
So the rationale behind the decision is the custodial death of George Floyd, which occurred roughly 900 miles away from Denver, and had nothing to do with school safety.
The anti-police resolution wants to take funds currently allocated to protecting city schools by cops and redirect them to an army of “psychologists” and “restorative justice practitioners,” according to KDVR-TV.
What’s a restorative justice practitioner, you might ask? Left-wing Vox has the answer.
The outlet describes practitioners of restorative justice as essentially third-party mediators who sit down and help victims of violence and their attackers talk out traumatic experiences.
Exactly how these restorative justice practitioners intend to prevent bloodshed at Denver schools isn’t clear, but Cordova and others are apparently willing to sacrifice the safety of kids at the altar of social justice, WesternJournal reported.
The rhetoric defies all logic and throws public safety out the window in favor of protecting the feelings of a few, according to editorialist, Johnathan Jones.
Perhaps Cordova and the rest of the board should make the 14-mile commute to the Columbine Memorial near Littleton, which honors those murdered during the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Jones suggested.
The memorial sits on a hill just west of campus and honors the 12 students and one teacher killed, along with the first responders who were at the school when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris set out that April morning to target Christians, minorities and other people they saw as their enemies.
The Littleton memorial sits on hallowed ground and declares those victims will be “never forgotten.”
Apparently, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education has forgotten.
During last year’s shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch, just seven miles from Columbine High School, there were no officers on scene when two students entered the school with guns.
The Douglas County charter school used a private security officer, who accidentally shot an innocent student during the confusion, and school officials were shocked, as the private security guard wasn’t even supposed to be armed, The Denver Post reported.
Students at the school were forced to become their own guardians and acted to stop the violence.
Kendrick Castillo, 18, died defending himself and others from gunfire.
Denver’s top educators apparently wish to leave all students in their city in a similar predicament and will install restorative justice practitioners and mental health experts in the place of trained school resource officers.
“Rhetoric against law enforcement officers has replaced sane logic,” wrote Jones. “As activists march to defund cops and erase the history of our country, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education has signaled loud and clear that it has forgotten its area’s own recent history, and it is now aligned with a movement that seeks to make all citizens, specifically its own students, vulnerable to violence.”
