Stoughton board authorizes district administrator to draft agreement for school resource officer after divided public comment

The Stoughton Area School District Board of Education voted to authorize the district administrator to develop an agreement with the City of Stoughton and/or the Stoughton Police Department for a school resource officer (SRO) beginning in the 2025–26 school year. The motion passed on a roll-call vote, six in favor, two opposed, with one member excused.

The board action followed more than an hour of public comment and extended board discussion in which students, parents and community members offered sharply divided views on whether the district should restore a sworn officer on campus. A group of students from the newly formed Ethics Club urged safety upgrades and described how an SRO could be part of a broader set of supports; other speakers and written commenters warned that placing police in schools can increase disciplinary actions and harm groups already overpoliced.

Why this matters: The vote directs the district administrator to negotiate and draft a contractual agreement that the board would later review and approve. Speakers pressed the board to include explicit guardrails in any agreement—requirements on training, plain clothes vs. uniform, role boundaries, data collection and annual reporting—while opponents urged investment in counselors and restorative practices instead of policing.

Student presenters and proposals

Students from Stoughton’s Ethics Club presented several school-safety ideas and described how an SRO could fit into student life. Student speaker Alex Thiesen (signed up as “Alex Gleeson” in the meeting sign-up) said the club supports automatic locking doors to reduce decision-making during…