X.-1 20-1335 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 1920-0260 - George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department
As a resident of Oakland, I am in support of the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate police from OUSD schools. Our youth deserve to be safe and instead of further perpetuating the school to prison pipeline system, students deserve proper support. Money should instead be used to strengthen counseling services, libraries, access to food, and easily accessible resources for our students to thrive in a healthy setting.
My name is Mariah Sparks and I am a librarian to 640 Tk-8 students in East Oakland. I support the Black Organizing Project’s George Floyd resolution for Police-Free School in Oakland. It is 9 years in the making. Say his name, Raheim Brown. Defund the school police. Black Lives Matter.
My name is Nilo Amiri and I am an Oakland resident writing to support the George Floyd resolution to remove police presence in Oakland schools. It is clear that police does not create a sense of safety among this school district where many students of color reside, and have experienced either by first or second hand accounts police brutality. So who are the police there for? I urge the school board to remove police presence, and redistribute the funds to truly support the students you serve in one short, but important step towards addressing inequity in US schools that disproportionately affect Black & Brown students. It should not have taken a decade for BAP's work to be recognized and for this resolution to be put forth.
Our youth should be getting support and helpful resources, not shame and blame and punishment. There are groups dedicated to helping schools implement the practice of restorative justice. Please consider this alternative to police on school campuses. Mental health is a serious issue in this country, we need to intervene early before it's too late.
This year we cut an essential position, the District Librarian. OUSD does not adequately fund school libraries. Her position creates a bridge for the patchwork of people trying to provide these state mandated services to students. She speaks for the libraries that have no resources, and works for equity and justice through school libraries. As such, she linked district librarians to the Black Organizing Project. We learned we are currently spending MILLIONS of education dollars on a police department, while cutting essential positions at the district like the District Librarian. I serve part time to keep our library services intact. But I will do it without the guidance of a District librarian, leaving me in the dark to figure it out. She created community, supported students in overlooked schools, and worked for excellence. School should be a place for learning, and not learning how to be policed. We can do better. Dissolve the OUSD police. Reinvest in libraries. Now is the time
I have served OUSD special education students for 10 years now. I am urging all school board members to support the George Floyd Resolution for police free schools. Funding police and SSOs before filling our schools with nurses, RJ counselors, other support services, and/or actual teachers is an extreme disservice to our black and brown youth. Shame on this school district for allowing this to happen for so long. This district should've had a safety plan for schools without police a long time ago. Police and SSOs in our school allow for the same systems of policing that we see traumatize black and brown communities in this country and around the world, in our classrooms. Do what is right and what you should've been doing a long time ago, because mothers have been burying their children who were murdered by police for a long time. NO MORE POLICE IN OAKLAND SCHOOLS!
As an Oakland resident in Jody London's district, I stand firmly in support of the George Floyd Resolution to end police presence in OUSD schools. Studies have shown that students, especially black & brown learners, are negatively impacted by the presence of police in schools as it triggers a fear response that precludes meaningful learning. I believe we should be investing in restorative justice practices (the OUSD practitioners of which have recently been laid off) to create a whole student wellness solution and not rely on use of force and escalation tactics in a school community setting. Thank you for your consideration.
I stand with the Black Organizing Project to call for police free schools, a defunding of the police force that contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline. Refocus that budget on school-based social services and other rehabilitative and educational efforts. We can do better, we can reimagine how we respond to and prevent violent behaviors stemming largely from trauma and disenfranchisement. Thank you.
As an Oakland resident and an educator for a local science center, I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the OSPD from Oakland schools. Their presence not only seeds fear and terror into students (particularly those of color), but stifles learning altogether. Students must be given the opportunity to learn by doing and making mistakes, neither of which can happen until students feel like they are actually safe to do so. Cut OSPD and reallocate the resources back into the many under-funded departments within OUSD (such as counseling, student mentors and aides, teacher resources and training, lunch programs, after school programs, STEM education, etc.). This is an opportunity to help our students by supporting them and caring for them throughout their education, rather than sending them up the school to prison pipeline.
I, as well as other Oakland Unified School District teachers and staff, stand with the Black Organizing Project to urge the board to SUPPORT THE GEORGE FLOYD RESOLUTION TO ELIMINATE OAKLAND SCHOOLS POLICE DEPARTMENT and DEFUND POLICE IN THE OAKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT. This funding should be allocated to increase resources around restorative justice, counseling, career opportunity, educational and emotional support. Please consider the future, safety, and security of our students and DEFUND POLICE IN OUSD!
I have lived and taught in Oakland for almost a decade. I fully support the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department. Schools should be a safe place and a sanctuary for all students. Students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe. Eliminating police from our schools is a crucial step in dismantling the school to prison pipeline.
As an Oakland native and OUSD alumni, I STRONGLY support the George Floyd resolution. The police are incapable of self-policing and remain dangerous to keep around children. Instead use the funds for further emotional, social, and academic support for the students.
Adding to the chorus of voices below me and in particular seconding Randall Ma’s sentiments. If a moral argument is not clear by this point, let the $6.5 million economic argument convince you. Let the emotional pleas of the teachers, tutors, workers, students, convince you.
Echoing what has been said below, the actions of Ms. Hinton during this meeting were frankly reprehensible and she should be terminated from this position. Whether it was not paying attention (one time seeming to turn her Zoom audio off entirely) or the incredibly disrespectful act of leaving entirely during the public comment section, this can’t be the way these meetings go.
Anyways, dissolve the OSPD. It’s the right call from every conceivable angle.
I am in full support of adopting the Black Organizing Project's George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the OUSD Police Department. We need to give our children a chance to have an education without the fear of the police and prison pipeline right outside of their classroom doors. Our children will never be able to thrive in an environment dominated by fear. We need to provide opportunities for our children by taking money that would have gone to the PD and instead investing it into school nurses, counselors, and individuals who are trained in guiding our children instead of punishing them. We can't expect our children will ever succeed if we don't give them a fair chance. Please vote in favor of the George Floyd Resolution on June 24th. Thank you.
As an Oakland resident, educator, and person invested in the well-being of all students, I fully support the George Floyd resolution to eliminate the OSPD. Please listen to students and residents when it's voiced over and over again that police presence does not make school safer – police presence makes school stressful, traumatizing and, especially for Black & brown students, dangerous. I strongly urge you to take the needs of students seriously. Do what's right and dissolve the OSPD.
The data is clear: police are detrimental to the health and well-being of our children. The people of Oakland have shown that they are overwhelmingly in favor of eliminating school police in favor of mental health and social service resources that would undoubtedly be far more effective than anything a police officer could provide. Respect the people who elected you and the staff and families of this district by making our schools safer for our children by removing police. POLICE FREE SCHOOLS NOW!
As a resident of Oakland, I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the OSPD. Police presence in educational settings is antithetical to the functioning of schools as safe spaces.
As a resident of Oakland, I am in support of the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate police from OUSD schools. Our youth deserve to be safe and instead of further perpetuating the school to prison pipeline system, students deserve proper support. Money should instead be used to strengthen counseling services, libraries, access to food, and easily accessible resources for our students to thrive in a healthy setting.
My name is Mariah Sparks and I am a librarian to 640 Tk-8 students in East Oakland. I support the Black Organizing Project’s George Floyd resolution for Police-Free School in Oakland. It is 9 years in the making. Say his name, Raheim Brown. Defund the school police. Black Lives Matter.
My name is Nilo Amiri and I am an Oakland resident writing to support the George Floyd resolution to remove police presence in Oakland schools. It is clear that police does not create a sense of safety among this school district where many students of color reside, and have experienced either by first or second hand accounts police brutality. So who are the police there for? I urge the school board to remove police presence, and redistribute the funds to truly support the students you serve in one short, but important step towards addressing inequity in US schools that disproportionately affect Black & Brown students. It should not have taken a decade for BAP's work to be recognized and for this resolution to be put forth.
Our youth should be getting support and helpful resources, not shame and blame and punishment. There are groups dedicated to helping schools implement the practice of restorative justice. Please consider this alternative to police on school campuses. Mental health is a serious issue in this country, we need to intervene early before it's too late.
This year we cut an essential position, the District Librarian. OUSD does not adequately fund school libraries. Her position creates a bridge for the patchwork of people trying to provide these state mandated services to students. She speaks for the libraries that have no resources, and works for equity and justice through school libraries. As such, she linked district librarians to the Black Organizing Project. We learned we are currently spending MILLIONS of education dollars on a police department, while cutting essential positions at the district like the District Librarian. I serve part time to keep our library services intact. But I will do it without the guidance of a District librarian, leaving me in the dark to figure it out. She created community, supported students in overlooked schools, and worked for excellence. School should be a place for learning, and not learning how to be policed. We can do better. Dissolve the OUSD police. Reinvest in libraries. Now is the time
I have served OUSD special education students for 10 years now. I am urging all school board members to support the George Floyd Resolution for police free schools. Funding police and SSOs before filling our schools with nurses, RJ counselors, other support services, and/or actual teachers is an extreme disservice to our black and brown youth. Shame on this school district for allowing this to happen for so long. This district should've had a safety plan for schools without police a long time ago. Police and SSOs in our school allow for the same systems of policing that we see traumatize black and brown communities in this country and around the world, in our classrooms. Do what is right and what you should've been doing a long time ago, because mothers have been burying their children who were murdered by police for a long time. NO MORE POLICE IN OAKLAND SCHOOLS!
As an Oakland resident in Jody London's district, I stand firmly in support of the George Floyd Resolution to end police presence in OUSD schools. Studies have shown that students, especially black & brown learners, are negatively impacted by the presence of police in schools as it triggers a fear response that precludes meaningful learning. I believe we should be investing in restorative justice practices (the OUSD practitioners of which have recently been laid off) to create a whole student wellness solution and not rely on use of force and escalation tactics in a school community setting. Thank you for your consideration.
I stand with the Black Organizing Project to call for police free schools, a defunding of the police force that contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline. Refocus that budget on school-based social services and other rehabilitative and educational efforts. We can do better, we can reimagine how we respond to and prevent violent behaviors stemming largely from trauma and disenfranchisement. Thank you.
As an Oakland resident and an educator for a local science center, I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the OSPD from Oakland schools. Their presence not only seeds fear and terror into students (particularly those of color), but stifles learning altogether. Students must be given the opportunity to learn by doing and making mistakes, neither of which can happen until students feel like they are actually safe to do so. Cut OSPD and reallocate the resources back into the many under-funded departments within OUSD (such as counseling, student mentors and aides, teacher resources and training, lunch programs, after school programs, STEM education, etc.). This is an opportunity to help our students by supporting them and caring for them throughout their education, rather than sending them up the school to prison pipeline.
I, as well as other Oakland Unified School District teachers and staff, stand with the Black Organizing Project to urge the board to SUPPORT THE GEORGE FLOYD RESOLUTION TO ELIMINATE OAKLAND SCHOOLS POLICE DEPARTMENT and DEFUND POLICE IN THE OAKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT. This funding should be allocated to increase resources around restorative justice, counseling, career opportunity, educational and emotional support. Please consider the future, safety, and security of our students and DEFUND POLICE IN OUSD!
I have lived and taught in Oakland for almost a decade. I fully support the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department. Schools should be a safe place and a sanctuary for all students. Students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe. Eliminating police from our schools is a crucial step in dismantling the school to prison pipeline.
Please remove police from OUSD schools and budgets.
As an Oakland native and OUSD alumni, I STRONGLY support the George Floyd resolution. The police are incapable of self-policing and remain dangerous to keep around children. Instead use the funds for further emotional, social, and academic support for the students.
I support the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department! Keep the Bay Area community safe!
Adding to the chorus of voices below me and in particular seconding Randall Ma’s sentiments. If a moral argument is not clear by this point, let the $6.5 million economic argument convince you. Let the emotional pleas of the teachers, tutors, workers, students, convince you.
Echoing what has been said below, the actions of Ms. Hinton during this meeting were frankly reprehensible and she should be terminated from this position. Whether it was not paying attention (one time seeming to turn her Zoom audio off entirely) or the incredibly disrespectful act of leaving entirely during the public comment section, this can’t be the way these meetings go.
Anyways, dissolve the OSPD. It’s the right call from every conceivable angle.
I am in full support of adopting the Black Organizing Project's George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the OUSD Police Department. We need to give our children a chance to have an education without the fear of the police and prison pipeline right outside of their classroom doors. Our children will never be able to thrive in an environment dominated by fear. We need to provide opportunities for our children by taking money that would have gone to the PD and instead investing it into school nurses, counselors, and individuals who are trained in guiding our children instead of punishing them. We can't expect our children will ever succeed if we don't give them a fair chance. Please vote in favor of the George Floyd Resolution on June 24th. Thank you.
As an Oakland resident, educator, and person invested in the well-being of all students, I fully support the George Floyd resolution to eliminate the OSPD. Please listen to students and residents when it's voiced over and over again that police presence does not make school safer – police presence makes school stressful, traumatizing and, especially for Black & brown students, dangerous. I strongly urge you to take the needs of students seriously. Do what's right and dissolve the OSPD.
The data is clear: police are detrimental to the health and well-being of our children. The people of Oakland have shown that they are overwhelmingly in favor of eliminating school police in favor of mental health and social service resources that would undoubtedly be far more effective than anything a police officer could provide. Respect the people who elected you and the staff and families of this district by making our schools safer for our children by removing police. POLICE FREE SCHOOLS NOW!
As a resident of Oakland, I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the OSPD. Police presence in educational settings is antithetical to the functioning of schools as safe spaces.
Get the police out of the schools. There are so many better ways to spend the money that will help the kids.