Columbia Heights board reviews youth outreach officer agreement; police data show no officer use-of-force last year

The Columbia Heights Public Schools board on Aug. 12 reviewed a revised youth outreach officer agreement with the City of Columbia Heights and received police data covering multiple school years.

Board members heard that the police reports pulled for the 2024–25 school year show no use-of-force incidents by the district’s youth outreach officer. "There were no use of force incidents by the youth outreach officer last school year. I don't remember a school year where we had no use of force used at all," Chief Markham said while presenting the department’s breakdown of calls and reported incidents.

The presentation compared incidents at Columbia Academy and the high school across three school years. Chief Markham reported 28 incidents at the high school and 17 at Columbia Academy in the most recent school year. He cautioned the board that the department’s records-management labels can make summaries appear to list “offenders” even when juveniles were not charged, and he explained that some entries reflect referrals or noncriminal contacts. "When you see something that says, like, an offender, that's sort of how our data is pulled," Markham said.

Director Hennekens told the board the agreement had been developed jointly with the city, the police department, the city council and district representatives. "There has been a lot of time and effort put into this, looking at statute changes, looking at both the city's policy and how that fits with the statute," Hennekens said, adding the working group feels "good about where we're at with that agreement."

Board members sought clarifications about the data. Members asked whether the counts include after-hours incidents, whether juveniles listed as "offenders" were charged, and whether nonstudents on school property are included. Chief Markham and board members agreed the current records system produces aggregated outputs that can be confusing; Markham said a planned countywide records-management upgrade (Tyler system) and ongoing work with analysts should make future reports clearer.

Board members also noted operational details that would appear in the final contract or implementation: Officer Arianne Austin was identified as the youth outreach officer for the district and confirmed by staff as having no use-of-force incidents in the last school year; Tabitha Wood was identified as the department’s designated backup for the assignment and has attended required training.

The draft agreement was described as aligned with recent statute changes and with the post-board model policy for school resource officers; the police department also cited Lexipol as the policy source they use. Board members discussed a termination clause in the draft that allows either party to cancel with 60 days’ notice for budgetary constraints; board members noted the district has no line-item cost in the contract and asked for clarity on practical effects of that clause.

No final vote on the agreement was taken Aug. 12. Chair Granlund said the agreement will return to the board for formal approval on Aug. 26. "We will have this presented again for approval on the agreement on our next meeting on the August 26," Granlund said.

Board members and police staff said they will continue refining how the data are presented to avoid public confusion about labels (for example, "offender" vs. "referral") and to show outcomes where feasible. Chief Markham encouraged the board to send follow-up questions about report formats to staff so analysts can adjust future packets.

The discussion included repeated emphasis that school disciplinary actions and police investigations are separate processes and that the district and the department continue to try to avoid pushing students into the criminal justice system when alternatives exist.

The board did not take action on the agreement at the meeting; it scheduled the contract for formal consideration on Aug. 26 and asked staff to provide clearer documentation on data definitions and on how the draft agreement’s termination and operational clauses will work in practice.