Charlottesville schools to post draft SRO MOU after work-group finds broad support but cites safety and role concerns

Denise Johnson, supervisor of strategic initiatives for Charlottesville City Schools, told the board the work group’s focus groups — about 100 combined students and adults — found that "80% of individuals who were polled, whether they were students or adults, either somewhat or definitely agreed with returning SROs back into the schools." Staff said the draft MOU will be posted on the division website for public review and comment beginning tomorrow, with community events (including an Aug. 26 "Can I Talk to You" event) to gather feedback before the board reviews any final revisions in September.

Supporters — including building principals and safety staff — framed SROs as a way to rebuild in‑house emergency response, restore day‑to‑day crisis communications and offer relationship‑based support. Todd Coogler, coordinator of safety and security, said an assigned officer can reduce the need for outside officers to arrive as strangers during incidents and can provide real‑time information to school administrators. Charlottesville High School principal Justin Malone said an on‑site, trained officer would "add needed value and pragmatism" to threat assessment and day‑to‑day safety work.

Focus groups and community outreach also produced clear cautions. Johnson listed three top concerns: the presence of firearms in schools, student discomfort and trauma, and unclear role overlap among administrators, CSAs and SROs. Bianca Johnson, restorative‑justice coordinator, said families and students told the work group they want officers introduced "as a person first and then an SRO," paired with student‑centered training and collaborative hiring and oversight. Jody Murphy, the district’s mental‑wellness coordinator, urged youth‑trained threat‑assessment skills and said that embedding SROs could move threat‑assessment work "from individuals to systems."

Board members repeatedly pressed staff on authority, funding and oversight. Staff said the unanimous work‑group recommendation is for the program to be funded through the police department payroll (CPD) rather than the school division; staff cited grant‑recipient norms and payroll logistics as reasons. On concerns about federal involvement, Lieutenant Greg Wade of the police department stated that local use of federal powers would require separate agreements and that "we have absolutely no plans to do that." Staff also pointed to language in a draft MOU preamble allowing termination of the agreement if circumstances diverge from local values.

Staff outlined next steps: post the draft MOU for public comment, prepare plain‑language summaries and FAQs for the website, hold community events, collect feedback, and return to the board in September with a community feedback report and any modifications. The superintendent and the police chief would sign a finalized MOU; standard operating procedures (SOPs) with operational detail would be developed and maintained separately to guide selection, training and day‑to‑day practice.