The presence of police officers in high schools is the object of heated debate. Threats by the provincial government to intervene by firing SD61's board has fired up those in opposition.
Forty advocates mobilised in front of the office of the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care to voice their opposition to its plan to fire School District 61’s board over the latter’s refusal to reinstate School Police Liaison Officers.
The rally was organised by a group of SD61 teachers concerned about the impact of police presence in schools, citing in its rationale a lack of evidence it deters criminality on school grounds, and in contrast plenty of cause to worry reinstatement would fuel the school-to-prison pipeline, which has been decried as discriminatory toward visible minorities and irredeemably racist in particular.
The program was ended by the SD61 Board of Education, upon recommendation by BC Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender. She elaborated during last year’s November 25 meeting of the school board, with a recommendation that support for youth at risk of gang influence be relegated to civilian staff.
Nevertheless, the decision has proven extremely polarising in the court of public opinion, a change.org petition calling for reinstatement having collected over 1500 signatures. Widespread support for SPLOs has compelled the Ministry to take the extraordinary step of threatening to fire the school board over its refusal to reinstate the program, a decision of course decried by the protesters as utterly undemocratic; indeed school trustees are democratically elected in British Columbia, and parents in attendance complained it would effectively void their vote.
Of course the attendance chanted the common refrain that money for education should go to education, not policing. One participant in particular pointed out the school board planned to axe its music program back in 2022, until parents mobilised to save it.
The Ministry is expected to follow through with its threat, with an imminent announcement. Protesters have vowed to keep rallying in opposition to any such decision, and brace themselves for a long battle against the government.
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