The City Council Tuesday night renewed the city’s agreement to provide school resources officers, or SROs, to St. Vrain Valley Schools this fall.
Councilors unanimously approved extending the SRO program without comment. SROs are sworn police officers who are placed in schools to provide education and security resources for classrooms.
Under the intergovernmental agreement between the city and the school district, the district will pay the city $625,708 for the 2022 school year for the SROs salaries and benefits.
The use of SROs in St. Vrain Schools prompted Councilmember Susie Hidalgo-Fahring last year to ask for a detailed review of the program. SRO programs have been criticized in other school districts over claims officers were unfairly targeting minority students with arrests and summonses.
SRO Sgt. John Garcia told the council in March 2021 that 1.5% of officers in schools are involved in arresting students. Most of the time, SROs counsel and mentor students, Garcia said.
A city staff report states there were no arrests initiated by SROs in the school district in the past two years and only three out of 181 summonses issued came directly from SROs.
“As law enforcement officers, informal counselors, mentors and public safety educators with the school, SROs aim to build relationships with students and staff and work in partnership to promote safer schools,” a staff report given to the city council last year states.
