MPS school resource officer requirement, educator opposed to return

MPS resource officer requirement opposition

Milwaukee Public Schools has no plan in place to have school resource officers back in buildings for the start of the school year, which is now just days away.

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public Schools has no plan in place to have school resource officers back in buildings for the start of the school year, which is now just days away.

The issue is tied to state funds that MPS receives. Act 12, a shared revenue bill signed last year, required the state's largest school district to hire 25 school resource officers by 2024. MPS is nine months behind that state-imposed deadline.

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"We do not believe that police officers have any place in our schools," said Angela Harris, chair of the Black Educators Caucus.

MPS ended its contract with the Milwaukee Police Department for school resource officers in 2016. If they have to return, Harris said she wants the district to redefine those officers’ roles.

Angela Harris

"Is it going to be preventative or is it going to be reactionary?" she asked. "Policing does not make us feel safe."

Harris said there are disproportionate interactions and punishments between officers and Black and brown students. She’d rather see money spent on anti-bias training and efforts that prevent school violence.

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FOX6 reached out to MPS for an updated timeline and cost for the project. In a meeting Thursday night, interim MPS Superintendent Eduardo Galvan said the details are still being worked out.

MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman told FOX6 on Thursday that the department is ready for whatever the outcome is.