Denver’s school board should decide whether to station armed police in the city’s comprehensive high schools and other qualifying campuses, according to a new recommendation by Superintendent Alex Marrero, which is a change from his earlier plan that would have left such decisions up to individual schools.
The recommendation was released Friday as part of a revised version of Denver Public School’s safety plan, which the Board of Education directed Marrero to create after a student shot two administrators inside East High School in March. The superintendent is expected to release his final draft on June 23.
Marrero is recommending the school board set a district-wide policy on whether to staff school resource officers — or SROs — in Denver’s comprehensive high schools and schools with 6th- to 12th-graders, according to the latest version of the safety plan.
Opinions varied widely when DPS sought feedback from the community on whether armed police should be stationed in schools, and as a result, the district believes it is best if the decision is managed by the school board, said spokesman Scott Pribble.
“We encourage (community) members to reach out to their board members once we get to that point of this process,” he said, adding, “This is still a draft and a final decision has not been made.”
Even under the previous draft, the school board still would have had to decide whether to allow school resource officers — or SROs — on campuses. The board suspended a policy that prohibits armed police in schools in March after the East shooting, but it is set to resume June 30 unless members decide otherwise.
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Source:: The Denver Post – News
