IC Schools table vote to add police to schools
Hunter
4/24/19
The Iowa City Community School Board have decided to table a vote on weather to add police officers to the district’s junior and senior high schools.
The action was taken as a result of pushback from parents and community members at the meeting, emails and phone calls received by the board members beforehand.
The proposal is to be discussed at a later work session, but board president Janet Godwin made it very clear that the board isn’t interested in having a constant police presence at the schools.
Those for school resource officers say that it not only addresses safety concerns but builds rapport between the police and young people. However, those against the action say officers are not prepared or trained to interact in that kind of environment and could have the opposite effect intended.
Cedar Rapids schools have partnered with police there for nearly a decade in all the high schools and some middle schools and say that those officers have endeared themselves to the school community. But Iowa City Police Chief Jody Matherly tells the Cedar Rapids Gazette that he’s fully aware of the negative impact a school police presence can have, and acknowledged community concerns about over-policing students of color.