Duluth schools host public meetings to discuss School Resource Officers

DULUTH, MN -- After some community concern last summer, the Duluth School District decided to review School Resource Officer (SROs) contracts they have with the Duluth Police Department.

Part of that resolution involves hosting public meetings to hear from the community about an SRO's role, which they did Wednesday night at Denfeld High.

The Duluth Branch of the NAACP released its stance on SROs Wednesday morning.

Katie Williams is co-chair of the education committee for the Duluth Branch of the NAACP.

She said SROs do not provide services to students in crisis and do not have the proper training to deal with the challenges students of color face.

"It means that it's harder for them to meet the learning objectives, which is the whole reason that they're in school if they're being taken out of class because they're meeting with a police officer or they're being cited for something," Williams said.

The statement also referenced a study that shows SROs disproportionally discipline students of color.

Williams said while students should meet objectives and test scores, there are some who come from a different place and need alternatives to punishment so they don't fall through the cracks.

"They would thrive," she said. "They would be connected to our institutions where right now it's probably really hard for them to connect if they're afraid that they're going to be punished just for living as a person of color."

The NAACP's proposed solution is to allocate money elsewhere, like hiring more school counselors and have alternatives to punishment, such as meditation and school at a different time.

"They need survivor services," Williams said. "They need trauma-informed alternatives to the questions and life experiences that they have."

ISD 709 is using the Twin Cities-based non-profit Marnita's Table to collect community input.

Duluth Schools Assistant Superintendent Anthony Bonds said the district wants the community, students, and staff to share their experiences.

"This is an opportunity for the entire community to take advantage of the opportunity to come and share their experiences with not only our school resource officers and our police officers, but also how we can improve and make our schools a safe, welcoming, and respectful environment for all of our students and all of our communities," Bonds said.

Bonds said the feedback and recommendations from the community will inform the district on how they can increase the climate of Duluth schools and promote a safe and welcoming environment.

"We just welcome everyone to join the conversation, to give us some great feedback that we can use to move forward in making a decision with how we can improve our schools and how we can improve our programming with our school resource officers," he said.

At the end of the day, both the district and NAACP expressed their desire to make sure voices are heard and concerns are addressed.

"Seeing kids as people, and realizing that they have needs that might not be immediately addressed in the classroom," Williams said.

The next meeting is at Duluth East from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 30.

Click here for more information about meetings hosted by Marnita's Table.