Central Unified schools in Fresno will add more armed police officers to campuses

The Central Unified School District board voted 5-2 on Tuesday to add two more armed police officers to its campuses starting next school year.

Glacier Point Middle School will receive a school resource officer. A second SRO will split time between El Capitan and Rio Vista Middle School. The officers will cost the district a little over $330,000 annually, according to the agreement.

Trustees Naindeep Singh Chann and Yesenia Carrillo voted against the move.

Central Unified staff noted Tuesday night that the agreement contains new language regarding SRO training in deescalation and non-violent crisis intervention.

“It’s still not enough for me,” said Carrillo, who has been vocal about her concerns in investing more money in armed officers as opposed to other resources. “We need to focus on providing additional counseling services (and) psychologists.”

The move comes almost two weeks after Fresno Unified’s board also voted to add SROs to some of their middle schools, amid more pushback from community organizations like Fresno Barrios Unidos.

Central’s most recent vote also comes almost a year after staff shortages and a surge in violent crime prevented Fresno police from fulfilling Central Unified’s request for an additional SRO to staff the newly opened Justin Garza High School. The department instead transferred an SRO from one of Central Unified’s middle schools.

The new agreement states that the goal is to staff all of Central Unified’s middle schools with at least one SRO by the start of the 2023-24 school year.

At Central’s June 14 board meeting, Fresno police Deputy Chief Mike Reid emphasized the need to document officers’ positive interactions with students as they work to build relationships with students across the city’s campuses moving forward.

Carrillo raised questions about how much student input has gone into the district’s recent decisions about armed officers on campuses, stating that some students have expressed to her that they don’t feel safe with officers on campus.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.