Residents urge alternatives to on-campus arrests; district schedules community safety meeting

Community members on April 28 told the Putnam County School Board that arrests of young students on campus are traumatic and damage trust between students and school staff. Margaret Ellington (S6) described media circulation of arrest images and called for alternatives to routinely bringing law enforcement into school discipline, saying the practice "creates fear rather than foster a safe learning environment." She asked the board to consider volunteer or restorative programs instead of arrests for nonviolent incidents.

The board and superintendent acknowledged concern. Board members referenced recent campus incidents, said resource officers are limited in reach and noted the district pays approximately $1.2 million annually for resource officers. Superintendent (S11) announced a community meeting to address the issue on June 17 at 9 a.m. in the boardroom, saying the district will invite city and community partners to discuss coordinated responses and prevention.

Speakers at the meeting also included a Marine Corps recruiter who described outreach to vocational programs, and comments recognizing the district's safety work; the agenda item followed public comments and will be part of the district's follow-up work on youth safety and community engagement.

The June 17 meeting aims to bring schools, law enforcement and community groups together to outline prevention, response and support options for students and families; board members also suggested exploring a task force and reviewing resource officer deployment across school levels.