KITTERY, Maine — The Kittery School District reconsidered its decision to remove the school resource officer position (SRO) Tuesday night.
The board members listened to public comments with a wide range of opinions, and when it came time to take a vote, the committee members voted 6-to-1 to keep the SRO position for the coming school year.
However, the position would be reviewed within that time and policies would be addressed over the next three years.
On Wednesday, August 19, Kittery Police Chief Robert Richter put out the following press release in response to the school district's decision:
The Kittery Police Department is pleased with last night’s School Committee decision to embark on a multi-year, community-focused effort to evaluate the School Resource Officer role in Kittery Schools. We are committed to working together with the school community on this effort and to providing a safe environment for all students, staff and facility.
The Police Department has been frustrated that we were not involved earlier in the conversations surrounding this position.
As evidence by the overwhelming community engagement, the S.R.O. program has been a valuable asset to the students, teachers and parents. We have heard many examples of how the SRO, Officer Jay Durgin has been a mentor, advisor, confidant, counselor, coach and positive role model in our schools.
It is my belief that the most successful way to police our community is to ensure we are positively engaged in the community we serve. We are here and listening. We have worked diligently to forge positive relationships with all members of our community. We are committed to constantly seek ways to improve on those services, including those provided by the School Resource Officer. Completely cutting ties between the police and students is a step backwards in developing positive relationships with all members of the community.
I have heard many comments, both positive and negative, about police officers in “uniform” and what the “uniform” represents. I will say without hesitation that I personally am proud of the uniforms I have worn and the public service I have provided in my 38 years in law enforcement. Equally as proud are the men and women of the Kittery Police Department. The members of the Kittery Police Department are some of the most professional, dedicated and caring law enforcement officers I have ever had the good fortune of working with. The Kittery community is fortunate that their Police Department employs some of finest law enforcement personnel anywhere. These officers are human beings. They are husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, brothers and sisters. The uniform does not define the person or their ability to be a compassionate, professional police officer.
We have all learned something from these recent events. We now need to use that knowledge to move forward in a positive manner to make certain that, with the help of our community, the Kittery Police Department can continue to offer, and improve upon, the services that our community demands.
ORIGINAL STORY PUBLISHED AUGUST 17:
Two weeks ago, the Kittery School Committee voted to do away with two school resource officer positions. On Tuesday, it's going to revisit the issue and likely take another vote.
Many people in the community, including parents, say they want to keep the school resource officers, but another group said police in the halls send a bad message, and they're standing firm.
"There is a very serious problem with policing in America and having police in an environment where students are expected to learn is very problematic," Beti Stevens said. Stevens went to Traip Academy for three years.
She still lives in Kittery, and she's part of a group that is speaking out about having an officer in the schools. So is Erika Gebo, a mom and a professor of criminology at Suffolk University in Boston.
She said resource officers, "do not reduce violent crime. They don't reduce minor infractions and they don't reduce drug use but they do increase suspensions and expulsions."
Since the initial vote to remove the officer, a big push from community members who believe the position is important.
"The support has been overwhelming," Angela Scanlon said.
She said not only is *her* group against the decision to eliminate the SRO but also how the vote happened.
"It's been very quick and rapid and with very little overall town input," Scanlon said.
Since the vote, she said she's heard from many people who had no idea it had happened.
"Because I think once you see local decisions being made without community involvement people start to get concerned," she said.
Also caught in the middle are some students who wish their voices had been heard, too.
"No one talked to us. It was just the adults that decided, and I don't think that's fair," one student said.
But not all students are in favor of the position, either. Erika Vargas says her son is in support of removing the position.
"My family and I have been very uncomfortable being out because of these signs," she said.
So, once again, the issue of whether to keep police officers in Kittery's schools is up for debate, with both sides saying, for better or worse, how students react to their presence should be taken into account.