Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
SROs report fewer arrests but high discipline referrals; board discusses staffing and cost for planned sixth-grade center
Summary
Urbana SROs reported declines in arrests and youth-assessment referrals but high counts of fights, vaping confiscations and 'gross misconduct' referrals; officers and administrators said metal detectors and K9 sweeps act as deterrents and that adding a sixth-grade center may require a third SRO and renewed contract talks with the city, with the current agreement expiring in June 2025.
Officer Chad Burnett and Officer Michelle Robinson delivered the Urbana School District 116 end-of-year report on the district’s school resource officer program, reporting fewer arrests and no school-related arrests this year while describing large counts of behavioral referrals and confiscations that remain a concern.
Burnett, the SRO at Urbana High School, said the police generated eight formal reports this year involving 25 students and recorded 14 emergency medical responses. He told the board there were 34 incidents listed as drug or paraphernalia-related and 64 fighting incidents; school intervention staff frequently de-escalated situations before they became physical. “We didn’t have any school-related arrest this year,” Burnett said, adding that some families decline to cooperate with youth-assessment referrals so an arrest or a referral to the state’s attorney may be the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
