School resource officers from the Waukegan police department will be present at both Waukegan High School campuses when classes start Aug. 14 after Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 moved to avoid a lapsed contract.
The District 60 Board of Education unanimously approved a one-year renewable contract with the police department Tuesday at the Lincoln Center administration building in Waukegan, assuring officers will be on campus while their role continues to be scrutinized.
When the board met June 27, a majority were reluctant to approve a five-year contract. Board President Brandon Ewing said at the time the district should not end a long-standing relationship without plans to make sure similar safety measures exist.
Though no contract was in effect from June 30 through Tuesday, summer school was over and class does not resume until Aug. 14. Superintendent Theresa Plascencia said at the June 27 meeting, some kind of plan was necessary before August.
“This is a board decision and not one to take lightly with what’s happening across the nation, and what’s happening not too far down the street, and could potentially happen in our own district,” Plascencia said at the time. “God forbid that would ever happen here or at any school.”
Ewing said the one-year contract is the right move for the district at this time. Resource officers have been in place at the high school campuses for a long time. Between June 27 and Tuesday, the police department agreed to a one-year agreement.
“This allows us the opportunity to speak with our partners at the Waukegan police department to figure out what is the best plan for SROs in District 60,” Ewing said after the meeting.
Board member Anita Hanna, who opposed the five-year pact, said at the meeting Tuesday she was comfortable with a one-year agreement. Christine Lensing, another board member, said she looks forward to discussions of the officers’ role.
“I have serious expectations of this board, this district and the Waukegan police department to refine what we currently have in place, because having the SRO in the school does not automatically equate to safety,” Lensing said.
Lensing said school safety must be discussed in a broader context, beyond discussions with the department and the district. She has heard stories about the same officer who has both helped students get food and haircuts, as well as cursing at them in the halls.
Conversations about the future role of SROs in District 60 will definitely go beyond the parties, to the contract. Ewing said he wants to make sure it is the right thing for both the parties and the community.
“SROs have been in District 60 for a very long time, but we want to make sure that is the best use of taxpayer resources from the city or the district, and it actually aligns with a safer environment for our students,” Ewing said at the meeting.
Ewing said he opposed the five-year agreement precisely because it did not give the district, the police and the community time to look more closely at school safety in a variety of ways and then make changes.
“We will be able to have a conversation about safety in District 60, and about the role of SROs,” Ewing said. “We want to include students, parents and community stakeholders.”
The potential cost of the contract to the district is $181,000, according to district records. The cost will be $120,000 for the current complement of two officers — with one at each high school campus. If a third officer is added, it will cost an additional $60,000.
