Meeting Time: June 10, 2020 at 4:00pm PDT
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Agenda Item

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

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    Deshina Nanthakumar over 4 years ago

    I support the decision to get cops out of schools.

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    Deleted User over 4 years ago

    I'm in FULL SUPPORT of the resolution to eliminate the OSPD and redirect that money to support students. There is no reason for the presence of police in schools- the aggressive and violent punitive measures enacted by them particularly criminalize Black youth and contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.

    The funds wasted on police in schools should be allocated to support students- for school nurses, therapists, counselors, after-school programs, libraries and librarians, restorative justice practitioners, and more. The approximately $6.5 million spent on police in OUSD has the potential to do so much good for the community when reallocated to actually HELP students, instead of harming them.

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    Miles Murray over 4 years ago

    I have been a teacher in OUSD for almost 15 years. I strongly support the Black Organizing Project and Oakland students in their proposal to remove police from Oakland schools. Use the savings to better fund libraries, R.J., Councilors. Side Note - the board's disrespect for the community is palpable and gross. We see you.

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    Celeste Wong over 4 years ago

    I would like to voice my strong support of the Black Organizing Project's George Floyd resolution to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department. Reinvest those funds to things that actually benefit the health and wellness of the students, such as counselors and teachers. Police presence in our schools is dangerous and traumatic and must be eliminated.

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    erica nakamura over 4 years ago

    i support taking police out of oakland public schools! schools should be places where children can learn from their mistakes, not be criminalized for their mistakes!

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    Crystal Barr over 4 years ago

    As an educator and a community member, I fully support the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department. Imagine if we took those financial resources and invested into social workers, mental health supports, and a district safety plan that is rooted in transformative/restorative justice practices. Our Black and Brown youth are disproportionately targeted and impacted by police in schools and in the streets--this is not equitable. This does not foster an environment of safety for Black and Brown communities.

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    Stephanie Tangsombatvisit over 4 years ago

    Speaking as a general pediatrician and a future developmental behavioral pediatrician, what we need in our schools are psychologists, social workers, counselors, specifically trained in child and adolescent behavior. I strongly support the elimination of the OUSD police and redirecting those funds towards other much needed support services.

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    Lauren Traetto over 4 years ago

    As an educator who worked in two East Oakland schools, Roots and Frick, I saw firsthand how having police in schools eroded the trust of our Black and brown students, making them feel deeply unsafe and inhibiting their learning. Please eliminate police from OUSD schools.

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    Joshua Davis over 4 years ago

    The events of the past few weeks have made it clear that we must remove armed law enforcement from everyday interactions. We must listen to the voices of students, the ones who are most impacted by the budget and policing choices we make today. What I’ve heard from them is they want OUSD out of the law enforcement business. I marched with our students on an exceptionally well-organized, peaceful, student-lead protest from Oakland Tech. It ended with many of us being tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets for no reason, underlining the reason & importance of eliminating over-policing.

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    Richard Rothbart over 4 years ago

    Remove police from ousd now! It's the responsibility of the board to keep kids safe, and OPD does not keep our community safe

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    Deirdre Judge over 4 years ago

    I'm an Oakland resident and I strongly support the Black Organizing Project's proposal to eliminate and redirect the OUSD police budget to needed services. As an educator who works in prisons, I know first hand the way that California schools have failed black and brown youth with over-policed and under resourced education. We need police out of schools now. It is shameful that last year Oakland teachers were striking for wages and supplies, and OUSD has $6.5 million available to fill these gaps.

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    Stephanie Thorne over 4 years ago

    Good evening, I'm a 4th grade inclusion teacher at Bella Vista Elementary School. I've attended two Restorative Justice trainings so far and I've seen the value of RJ first-hand in my classroom. I believe that if the funds currently spent on police within OUSD schools were instead allocated to expand and fully implement our Restorative Justice program, we would have more equitable, safe and student-first schools. At Bella Vista we have 1 community schools manager who holds the RJ program, among a plethora of other programs. While it's a start, we need more staff dedicated to RJ to fully implement the program. I hope that OUSD invests in RJ, in addition to counselors and pyschologists, instead of police contracts. Please pass the George Floyd Resolution. Thank you.

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    Peggy Lien over 4 years ago

    I am an Oakland resident and I strongly support eliminating police presence on our school campuses. It is imperative for us to do the right thing and redistribute the resources on ineffective police force in EDUCATION to uplift our most underserved Black and Brown students. Thank you!

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    Rini Nandi over 4 years ago

    I support using the funds that would be freed by getting the police out of OUSD to fund more restorative justice programs, mental health programs and student services.

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    Corinne Jong over 4 years ago

    I support the proposed resolution to eliminate the Department and the sworn officers, and reallocate funds toward student support positions such as school-based social workers, psychologists, restorative justice practitioners, or other mental or behavioral health professionals. I agree that the Superintendent should launch, by no later than July 17, 2020, an inclusive, community-driven process – involving parents, students, teachers, school administrators, student support staff, the Black Organizing Project, and other community partners – for completing a revised District safety plan with strategies for enhancing student learning, safety, and well-being within the District.

    I am a middle school teacher at Urban Promise Academy. I have worked for Oakland Unified School District for 7 years, and taught for 14. I believe that this resolution is what the students, parents, teachers, and community of Oakland need!

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    Monica Yupa over 4 years ago

    I am an OUSD teacher and I strongly support the Black Organizing Project's proposal to redirect the OUSD police budget to needed services for education, such as more nurses, counselors, restorative justice programs, and so forth. This is what our OUSD students deserve in order to thrive, rather than be policed in a setting that should be nurturing and safe for them.

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    Zoraida Serrano over 4 years ago

    As an Oakland resident and teacher in OUSD, I am in full support of the elimination of the OUSD PD. Our students do not need to be policed, they need to be supported. We cannot claim to be a district where "Every student thrives" if we are not investing in their well-being and providing them with therapists, social workers, nurses, counselors, librarians, after school programs, and folks trained in RJ practices amongst many other services. ELIMINATE the police department, INVEST in our students.

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    Noellyn Robleto over 4 years ago

    I am a pediatric nurse and was born/raised in Oakland. I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution. The police does not belong in OUSD. We need to shift focus to restorative justice and allocate funds to teachers, counselors, social workers, nurses, etc.

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    Kristina Babbitt over 4 years ago

    Please vote Yes on this resolution. It's important we teach children accountability, but I'm afraid the only lesson taught when we police our students is that we don't trust them to be accountable. A police presence in our schools does more harm than good because police tend to escalate tense situations, particularly when dealing with Black students and students of color. As a former educator, schools should be nurturing environments: safe places for children to learn and grow. This isn't possible when our schools partner with a punitive police force. It breaks the trust between pupil and teacher when a teacher decides to involve the police rather than try to understand why that student is acting out. I'm sympathetic that we are overworked, underpaid, and sometimes don't know how to deal with a student who breaks rules or is disruptive. However, we could instead invest in providing counselors or other resources for students and teachers to work out these issues together. Thank you.

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    Dave Campbell over 4 years ago

    Please get Oakland PD out of schools