MADISON (WKOW) — The Madison Board of Education has voted to keep school resource officers (SROs) in all four public Madison high schools.
On Monday night, the board approved a new contract with the Madison Police Department that will keep SROs in the schools through the 2021-2022 school year. The contract was passed on a vote of 4-2.
Throughout the 2.5 hours of discussion, many of the board members struggled with decision.
Supporters of the program said the officers schools need the officers to help with school safety. Board of Education President Mary Burke said this is the best decision given recent events.
“Unfortunately, yes there are down sides and unintended consequences, and impact on students that are not positive,” Burke said.
“The reality is we do have an unprecedented number of school shootings and we do have an abundance and easy access to guns,” Burke said.
Another board member said he’d rather focus on external school safety rather than internal school safety.
“For me, I don’t see why police officers should be serving any purpose inside of our school,” Vice President James Howard said. “That’s why the scope and search is the most important part of the contract for me.”
Other who are against the proposal felt They were calling for more investment in students, rather than spending money on police officers.