DeKalb May Cut School Cops

Published May 12, 2010 at 8:35 a.m.

(WSB Radio) -- The DeKalb County School District will cut 150 central office jobs to help close its $88 million budget shortfall, and among the cuts could be some school resource officers.

No one knows how many SROs could lose their jobs since district officials have not made decisions on specific department cuts.

But some people worry drastic cuts could jeopardize student safety and put school property at risk.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, Channel 2 Action News reporter Darren Moore obtained monthly crime reports from the district's public safety department, and Channel 2 Action News reporter Richard Elliot spent the day adding up all the numbers.

The reports for the 2009-10 school year, which include August to February and exclude October, show SROs found 104 weapons on campuses and dealt with 348 assaults, 259 thefts and 63 burglaries.

SRO's estimate thieves stole $374,383 worth of school property, and, the report shows officers arrested 1,037 juveniles and adults, both during and after school.

"One of the last people they should consider taking out of the day to day routine in the school," said Chamblee High School's Parent Teacher-Student Association president Belinda Wedgwood. She believes SROs also serve as role models for students and give students an alternative to turning to principals and teachers for help.

"If something is going to happen to the student with some of their peer group then other than the principal or assistant principals or teachers, it's someone they can turn to."

Still, some people believe 83 school resource officers for 99,000 students are too many, especially when compared to other Metro Atlanta school districts. Georgia's largest school district, Gwinnett County, has 160,000 students and only 22 school resource officers. The Clayton County School District doesn't employ its own police force for its 50,000 students. It uses only 18 county police officers.

But when you ask parents like Martin Luther King Jr. High School PTSA president Donna Dees about possible SRO cuts, she advises making wise decisions. "With any of the cuts, I think it's kind of touchy. We understand cuts have to be made, but we also understand they have to be made in the right places."

 

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