The Pomona Unified School District will no longer have police officers on campu beginning with the upcoming school year. School board members approved a new budget Wednesday night without any funding for Community School Resource Officers.
Pomona Unified Superintendent Richard Martinez told KPCC that over the past year, parents and guardians say their priorities for campus safety have changed:.
"What we heard from the parents due to COVID-19, this pandemic, they really wanted us to focus on the return, reengagement, helping students catch up, the mental health of students," Martinez said.
The district is instead funding tutoring, college prep and after-school programs, as well as restorative justice programs to deal with bullying and behavioral issues.
Martinez said in the past, campus police would also be involved when students were questioned during disciplinary meetings. Reports from Gente Organizada, a Pomona area community group, found that this involvement was often ineffective. They indicated that oftentimes students would be interviewed by campus police without an adult to support them.
Martinez said police will still be called in if a crime is committed but, in the meantime, any disciplinary action will be handled by school proctors.
