Charlottesville school board declines to add SRO discussion to tonight’s agenda after public outcry
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Summary
Board member motion to add a discussion on returning school resource officers (SROs) to the March 31 agenda failed by voice vote amid sustained public comment urging reconsideration and greater transparency; the board scheduled a work session on April 16 for a fuller discussion.
The Charlottesville City School Board on March 31 rejected a motion to add an immediate discussion about returning school resource officers to the evening’s agenda, after several residents and community organizations packed public comment to oppose the move.
A board member moved to amend the agenda so the board could “give some sort of response to the public” after receiving petitions and two weeks of emails; several colleagues said a work session already set for April 16 would allow a fuller, better-prepared conversation. The motion to add the item failed on a voice vote and the chair confirmed the board will take up the topic at the April 16 work session.
During the public-comment period, more than a dozen speakers urged the board to reconsider any decision to bring armed officers back into schools. Amanda Moxham, a parent, cited a multi-study analysis she said showed schools with SROs face higher rates of exclusionary discipline and disproportionate arrests for Black students: “Schools with majority Black or Latino students have three to seven times more SROs,” she said, and “our children deserve counselors, social workers, and restorative practices.”
Shannon Gilligan, president of the Charlottesville Education Association, told the board that a recent staff survey showed less than 30% support among educators for SROs returning, and repeated the union’s long-standing opposition. Several community leaders—representing tenants, housing residents and youth-justice groups—urged a public revote and more transparent, inclusive engagement before any implementation.
Board members who opposed adding the item said the April 16 work session will be the appropriate forum for a detailed, deliberative discussion. One member who favored the amendment said she brought it because community emails and a change.org petition demanded an immediate response; another member said the board’s process had included multiple surveys, work sessions and presentations over the last two years and favored a measured approach.
The April 16 work session is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the media center and the board encouraged public attendance. Several speakers who opposed SROs said they plan to return in numbers to press the board to reverse the prior vote returning SROs to schools.
