School board schedules expanded public engagement on SRO MOU after heated public comment; members press for data on cost, staffing and oversight

The Charlottesville City School Board on Sept. 9 did not vote to adopt or reject a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would restore school resource officers to division schools, but it directed staff and the existing SRO working group to expand community engagement and produce additional documentation and clarifications before the MOU is finalized.

The discussion followed more than an hour of public comment in the media center and over Zoom in which teachers, parents, students and community members urged either a pause or a complete rethink of the plan. Shannon Gilligan, who identified herself in the meeting as speaking for both herself and school staff, told the board: “This proposal would cost $800,000 the first year and 3 to $400,000 every year after.” Several other speakers urged the board to slow the process, expand outreach and include teachers, students and parents in frontline decisionmaking.

Beth Chuck, a member of central office staff who presented the district’s engagement plan, told the board the division had scheduled about 15 meetings in September and October — a mix of public “info hours,” two staff‑only sessions and targeted student engagements — and that feedback from a Google form and the public forum would be folded into the MOU or an accompanying standard operating procedure (SOP). “We have scheduled about 15 events in September and October,” Chuck said, describing weekly SRO information hours at varied times and locations and student tabling and impact sessions.

Why it…