CoCo County School District Mulls Cuts to Officers Assigned to Richmond Campuses

RICHMOND (KPIX) -- A program that places Richmond police officers in local schools is in danger of shrinking. As part of the Student Resource Officer program, officers work on campus at all four Richmond high schools and one middle school.

Sgt. Lynette Parker told KPIX the program is fundamentally about student safety and forming connections with young people.

"The officers assigned to this specialty have the ability to connect with the community and the kids on a daily basis," she said.

Parker pointed out that school resource officers, also called SROs, often step in before situations become dangerous, such as when an officer at De Anza High School received a tip that a student brought a gun to school in his backpack.

"Based on the report, based on the information, the administration and the SRO were able to locate the child and find a loaded firearm," she said.

The program has already faced cuts, with the team shrinking from 10 officers two years ago, to six today.

Now, the West Contra Costa Unified School District is considering further cuts.

As part of $12.5 million in reductions to increase the salaries of teachers, the school board recently voted to cap SRO spending at $150,000 per officer, instead of the current $200,000. Richmond police say that would mean whittling the SRO team from six officers to five.

District spokesman Marcus Walton told KPIX by phone, "The district is looking at its budget very closely and trying to put core resources toward the classroom. Officers are an important part of the city and we're working hard to keep them in the community."

But at a city council meeting Tuesday, Richmond police chief Allwyn Brown said reducing the number of officers could impact response times in the event of a school emergency.

"You wouldn't have the presence of an officer on the campus who could respond immediately," Brown told council members.

KPIX reached out to the president of United Teachers of Richmond, the teachers union, but he did not return a call and e-mail. The district's final budget will be approved in June.