The Des Moines Public Schools find themselves once again contemplating if school resource officers would help with public school safety.
Activist Jaylen Cavil, who pushed for the complete abolishment of police, urges activists to show up to tomorrow’s school board meeting to “keep cops out of school” despite surge of alleged violence in Des Moines public schools. @IAFieldReport #IaPolitics https://t.co/fkxmc9jmvw
— Caleb Lillquist (@CLillquist) December 6, 2021
BREAKING: “Activist” @jaylencavil continues to demonize media he doesn’t like. Cavil today accused @KCCINews for writing a “propaganda” piece on recent alleged surges of Des Moines public school violence after the DSM schools disbanded school officers. @IAFieldReport #IaPolitcs https://t.co/W1cSqIR7km
— Caleb Lillquist (@CLillquist) December 6, 2021
After recent Tik Tok videos surfaced of students brawling on camera, students and parents have shared their concerns with the rise of violence.
During a school board meeting held this week, Mother Lindsay LeGrange spoke out in favor of reinstating SRO’s to the community district.
“My children are afraid to go to school because of the constant fights and violence,” said LeGrange, while mentioning the experiences of her son seeing frequent fights at school.
Contrary views with fights in Des Moines Public Schools: Mother Lindsay LeGrange argues the need for SRO’s. “My children are afraid to go to school because of the constant fights and violence,” says LaGrange. One speaker proposes employees trained in “Anti-Racism” @IAFieldReport pic.twitter.com/5w2ZxtfDd2
— Caleb Lillquist (@CLillquist) December 7, 2021
Yet, community activists painted a different view.
One speaker encouraged the school to adopt hall monitors trained in “anti-racism,” while others read out student testimonies of mistreatment from Des Moines SRO’s.
Others lambasted Des Moines news outlet KCCI for addressing the issue of rising school violence, alleging it created “Fear-mongering” with a pro-cop agenda.
Speakers talk about negative SRO experiences in DMPS. Both sides appear to agree that violence in the school is an issue. Some speakers blame @KCCINews and reporter for recent article addressing student violence as “fear-mongering.” @IAFieldReport #IaPolitics pic.twitter.com/IxlzVWKfQm
— Caleb Lillquist (@CLillquist) December 8, 2021
After the public spoke, Director of School Climate Transformation Jake Troja updated the school board on recent data.
Troja admitted how the school has had an increase of violence in the district while additionally noting that only about 50% of DMPS students feel safe at school.
Troja believes that reinstating SRO’s would not have any effect at all but instead would add to the criminal charges of students.
What a long week. Shout out to @DMschools High School teams for their dedication and work ethic. The removal of SROs has created an opportunity for US to do better. The right work is hard work.
— Jake Troja (@JakeTroja) February 26, 2021
During testimony from Troja, School board member Thomas Ahart briefly commented on the issue of faculty being concerned about being racist if they were to write out a referral to a student for behavior.
Additionally, School board member Jackie Norris emphasized the utter need to address parent and student concerns overall while making sure their voices are heard.
Last February, the school board had suspended SRO’s after recent data showed how officers interacted with students of color more frequently than white students.
