Santa Rosa school board approves MOU to restore school resource officers after contentious public debate

The Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education voted March 25 to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Santa Rosa Police Department to reestablish a School Resource Officer (SRO) program, passing the measure on a roll-call vote with four trustees in favor and three voting against (including the student board member).

The vote follows more than two hours of public comment and trustee discussion that focused on training schedules, what data the police would collect and share, who would pay for the program, and whether language to address racialized disproportionality and limits on officersconduct had been weakened during MOU negotiations.

Supporters said officers are a necessary part of a comprehensive safety plan and urged trustees to approve the agreement so the city and police department could pursue grants and other funding. Opponents said SROs risk criminalizing students, especially students of color and students with disabilities, and that the district is cutting counselors and restorative staff while reintroducing police to campuses.

Public comment highlighted the division in the community. Melissa Stewart, a resident who addressed the board, urged trustees to approve the MOU and set a start date, saying, "Please do the right thing this time. Don't ignore safety concern[s]. They are not going away." Catherine Howell, president of the Santa Rosa Teachers Association, said the union supports the MOU but framed SROs as only one part of a broader safety team that must include counselors and restorative specialists.

Students, teachers and parents speaking against the MOU argued that SROs are not a substitute for mental-health staff. Axel O'Neil, a junior who identified himself as a student at LCLN High School, said adding officers "just removes ways students can cope" and urged the district to keep counselors, nurses and restorative specialists. Mel Debrett, a special education teacher, warned that students with emotional disabilities are disproportionately affected when police are present in schools and urged trustees to consider how SROs might contribute to a school-to-prison pipeline.

Trustees debated several substantive concerns raised during the public comment period and in the district's ad hoc committee process. Trustee John Medina (Trustee Medina) said he was troubled by language changes that left some training requirements less stringent and by the removal of phrasing that would have explicitly directed the program to address "racialized disproportionality." Medina also said key cost estimates for district staff time, complaint processing and dashboard development were not yet included in the MOU draft presented for approval.

Superintendent Dr. Morales told the board the district does not intend to fund officers from general education budgets and that the city historically covered SRO funding; she said the city and police department need an MOU to pursue grants and outside funding. Trustee Casten urged passage so the city could seek funding and called for a technical fix: "If the city's okay with it, include the insurance language within this MOU," Casten said, referring to standard insurance certificates requested by the district's legal reviewers.

Other trustees expressed a mix of support and caution. Trustee Kirby cited statistics presented during the meeting, saying there were 2,305 service calls to campuses in 2023 and about 5,796 SRPD-related campus events over three years, arguing that another layer of response could help in life-threatening incidents. Trustee de la Torre said the adopted MOU represents work of community members and officials who plan to vet officers for site placements, and stressed that SROs are not intended to replace other student supports.

A motion to approve the MOU was recorded as being made by Trustee de la Torre and seconded by Trustee Jenkins. The roll-call vote recorded Aye votes from Trustees de la Torre, Jenkins, Casten and Kirby; No votes from Trustee Medina, President (name as recorded in the roll call) and Student Board Member Zuniga/ Zeninga (the student trustee's vote was recorded as No). The board president announced the motion passed.

The approved MOU is intended to be used by the city and SRPD to apply for grants and to begin forming an SRO team. Trustees and speakers noted several outstanding implementation items that the board said it will continue to address: specific training timelines and required topics, detailed insurance language and certificates, cost and staffing estimates for district monitoring and complaint processes, and the development of a dashboard to track arrests, citations and other interactions. Trustee Medina unsuccessfully moved to amend the motion to postpone final approval and allow more time for public review.

The board meeting concluded with trustees saying they expect to continue policy work and community engagement while the city and police pursue funding and operational details for the program. The MOU, as approved, does not specify an implementation start date; trustees said that budget, grant outcomes and finalized training and insurance details will guide any timeline.