I.-1 20-1335 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 1920-0260 - George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department.
There's no excuses anymore, the question is very clear: Do you care about the health, well-being, education, and lives of our young people OR will you prioritize self-interest, police unions, and fear? We support you in making an historic decision that in which we applaud your leadership and courage to be on the just side of history. Thank you!!
I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution with no amendments to remove police from OUSD. We keep us safe. These funds could be used in so many other more valuable ways for the community. Please stand on the right side of history.
I support the resolution to remove OPD from OUSD. Children need support, teachers that look like them and counselors that look like them (who are well paid), not policing.
As a white middle class high school student in the 1970’s, I was outraged when our principal called in uniform services to patrol the students because we had previously peacefully protested near the school against the war in Vietnam. That only lasted a few days and I was a person with privilege. I cannot imagine what it is like for our students of color in Oakland having school police not for a few days, but always. Our black and brown youth should not have feel occupied by uniformed police. We must find a community-based solution to insure our students’ well-being.
I am a community member in Oakland. I am writing to ask you to pass the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland School Police Department and remove police from OUSD schools. We have no more need for this kind of policing of students than any other kind of racial profiling. Let our students and teachers have help and support they ask for instead. Thank you, Christine L Berger
I am an Oakland resident and an educator. I strongly support of the George Floyd Resolution put forth by the Black Organizing Project. Safety must be an inclusive process that is intentional about the involvement of community on all levels. Police are not equipped to handle the issues of safety, and they are in fact the antithesis to what true safety and sanctuary should be in our schools. We need students to have access to restorative justice programs, social workers and counselors who are equipped to address their social emotional needs!
OUSD should follow the example of San Francisco and Minneapolis Public Schools and sever ties with OPD. The proposal developed by the Black Organizing Project and Board Director Roseann Torres to defund and remove police and security officers from Oakland schools will make schools a more productive, safe learning environment for all of Oakland’s students. Though OUSD has been a leader in implementing restorative justice practices, Black students are still subject to disproportionately high rates of discipline, arrest, and suspension. The Board represents the community, and it must recognize the immense community support behind this measure. The Board unfortunately cannot look to Oakland City Council for leadership in this matter, as that body recently failed to act in accordance with community will on police abolition. Indeed, their failure only increases the responsibility of the Board to take a stand to protect Oakland's students - our most important residents and our future.
I'm an Oakland resident and strongly support the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. Thank you to Black Organizing Project and all the community members and advocates who have rallied around this. Board members: stand on the right side of history and pass this resolution.
I am an Oakland resident and support the George Floyd resolution to fully remove the Oakland Schools Police Department. Students and educators need support, not police.
As a parent of two children- rising 2nd and rising 5th graders- at Melrose Leadership Academy, I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department and adopting alternatives to provide our students and staff with safe schools to learn in.
When talking with my kids about what keeps them safe at school, they name their classmates, teachers, principals and the parents of families that are present at the school. We must fundamentally alter the way we approach safety and the best way to do this with our young people.
I am an Oakland resident and parent of a child enrolled in OUSD, and I strongly support the Black Organizing Project (BOP) and OUSD Directors Shanthi Gonzales’ and Roseann Torres’ unprecedented and groundbreaking resolution to eliminate Oakland’s School Police Department because our kids deserve better.
I am a community member living in District 1, and I am writing in strong support of the George Floyd resolution as currently written. There should not be a standing police presence in our schools - sending the wrong message to our kids, and hugely increasing the risk that kids will be sucked into the criminal justice pipeline - and instead resources should be redirected to provide additional staff who can support, help, teach, and inspire all of our kids, teens, and young adults in the Oakland public schools.
I am an Oakland resident and I’m strongly in support of the George Floyd Resolution and I‘m urging the Board to terminate any contracts they have with OSPD and OPD. Please keep OPD out of our schools and do not fund them. We do not need to reform police. We need to remove them. That money should be divested into restorative justice programs, special education, counselors, and other programs that work towards a more equitable future. Police do not make our schools safer. They actively make them more dangerous for our Black and Brown students.
I'm an Oakland resident and implore you to pass the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. Funds currently going to the problematic policing program in schools should instead go towards programs that have proven long-term positive outcomes: counseling, restorative justice, and other programs designed to support and uplift, rather than punish, students.
As an Oakland teacher, I fully support the George Floyd Resolution AS IS. Our youth is calling for abolition of police in our schools and in our communities. Let us listen and follow through with that. You have the power to change policies, and I ask that you seek the wisdom that BOP has on creating safety plans for our schools. There are many other community members, excluding police, who can lead us to safety plans and help with the redistribution of funds. A yes vote is just the beginning. We will abolish all policing systems that exist in our schools, and we will do it together.
I am an Oakland resident and educator who strongly supports the George Floyd Resolution. Please pass it as written with eliminating, not reforming, the Oakland Schools Police
I have worked with students in OUSD over the years as both a tutor and Ed rights holder. At its core, school is about learning through one’s mistakes— academically and socially. We limit the ability to learn and grow when we respond to students through force rather than understanding and support. Maintaining a police force to oversee the actions of children also signals that we expect students to do wrong and that they should be punished. That is antithetical to every educational principle in the rule book today. What’s more, it adversely affects students of color more than others, sustaining a vicious cycle rooted in racism.
I'm a resident of Oakland and I strongly support the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. Please, be on the right side of history.
There's no excuses anymore, the question is very clear: Do you care about the health, well-being, education, and lives of our young people OR will you prioritize self-interest, police unions, and fear? We support you in making an historic decision that in which we applaud your leadership and courage to be on the just side of history. Thank you!!
I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution with no amendments to remove police from OUSD. We keep us safe. These funds could be used in so many other more valuable ways for the community. Please stand on the right side of history.
I support the resolution to remove OPD from OUSD. Children need support, teachers that look like them and counselors that look like them (who are well paid), not policing.
As a white middle class high school student in the 1970’s, I was outraged when our principal called in uniform services to patrol the students because we had previously peacefully protested near the school against the war in Vietnam. That only lasted a few days and I was a person with privilege. I cannot imagine what it is like for our students of color in Oakland having school police not for a few days, but always. Our black and brown youth should not have feel occupied by uniformed police. We must find a community-based solution to insure our students’ well-being.
Thank you,
- Rabbi David J. Cooper
I am a community member in Oakland. I am writing to ask you to pass the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland School Police Department and remove police from OUSD schools. We have no more need for this kind of policing of students than any other kind of racial profiling. Let our students and teachers have help and support they ask for instead. Thank you, Christine L Berger
Sincerely, Christine L. Berger
I am an Oakland resident and an educator. I strongly support of the George Floyd Resolution put forth by the Black Organizing Project. Safety must be an inclusive process that is intentional about the involvement of community on all levels. Police are not equipped to handle the issues of safety, and they are in fact the antithesis to what true safety and sanctuary should be in our schools. We need students to have access to restorative justice programs, social workers and counselors who are equipped to address their social emotional needs!
OUSD should follow the example of San Francisco and Minneapolis Public Schools and sever ties with OPD. The proposal developed by the Black Organizing Project and Board Director Roseann Torres to defund and remove police and security officers from Oakland schools will make schools a more productive, safe learning environment for all of Oakland’s students. Though OUSD has been a leader in implementing restorative justice practices, Black students are still subject to disproportionately high rates of discipline, arrest, and suspension. The Board represents the community, and it must recognize the immense community support behind this measure. The Board unfortunately cannot look to Oakland City Council for leadership in this matter, as that body recently failed to act in accordance with community will on police abolition. Indeed, their failure only increases the responsibility of the Board to take a stand to protect Oakland's students - our most important residents and our future.
I'm an Oakland resident and strongly support the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. Thank you to Black Organizing Project and all the community members and advocates who have rallied around this. Board members: stand on the right side of history and pass this resolution.
Please vote for the George Floyd Resolution with no amendments. Thank you.
I am an Oakland resident and support the George Floyd resolution to fully remove the Oakland Schools Police Department. Students and educators need support, not police.
As a parent of two children- rising 2nd and rising 5th graders- at Melrose Leadership Academy, I strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department and adopting alternatives to provide our students and staff with safe schools to learn in.
When talking with my kids about what keeps them safe at school, they name their classmates, teachers, principals and the parents of families that are present at the school. We must fundamentally alter the way we approach safety and the best way to do this with our young people.
I am an Oakland resident and parent of a child enrolled in OUSD, and I strongly support the Black Organizing Project (BOP) and OUSD Directors Shanthi Gonzales’ and Roseann Torres’ unprecedented and groundbreaking resolution to eliminate Oakland’s School Police Department because our kids deserve better.
I am a community member living in District 1, and I am writing in strong support of the George Floyd resolution as currently written. There should not be a standing police presence in our schools - sending the wrong message to our kids, and hugely increasing the risk that kids will be sucked into the criminal justice pipeline - and instead resources should be redirected to provide additional staff who can support, help, teach, and inspire all of our kids, teens, and young adults in the Oakland public schools.
I am an Oakland resident and I’m strongly in support of the George Floyd Resolution and I‘m urging the Board to terminate any contracts they have with OSPD and OPD. Please keep OPD out of our schools and do not fund them. We do not need to reform police. We need to remove them. That money should be divested into restorative justice programs, special education, counselors, and other programs that work towards a more equitable future. Police do not make our schools safer. They actively make them more dangerous for our Black and Brown students.
I'm an Oakland resident and implore you to pass the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. Funds currently going to the problematic policing program in schools should instead go towards programs that have proven long-term positive outcomes: counseling, restorative justice, and other programs designed to support and uplift, rather than punish, students.
As an Oakland teacher, I fully support the George Floyd Resolution AS IS. Our youth is calling for abolition of police in our schools and in our communities. Let us listen and follow through with that. You have the power to change policies, and I ask that you seek the wisdom that BOP has on creating safety plans for our schools. There are many other community members, excluding police, who can lead us to safety plans and help with the redistribution of funds. A yes vote is just the beginning. We will abolish all policing systems that exist in our schools, and we will do it together.
Fund the classrooms. Those cops do nothing but endanger children
I am an Oakland resident and educator who strongly supports the George Floyd Resolution. Please pass it as written with eliminating, not reforming, the Oakland Schools Police
I have worked with students in OUSD over the years as both a tutor and Ed rights holder. At its core, school is about learning through one’s mistakes— academically and socially. We limit the ability to learn and grow when we respond to students through force rather than understanding and support. Maintaining a police force to oversee the actions of children also signals that we expect students to do wrong and that they should be punished. That is antithetical to every educational principle in the rule book today. What’s more, it adversely affects students of color more than others, sustaining a vicious cycle rooted in racism.