The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Board of Education voted Monday night to approve more security positions for schools.
Four additional law enforcement officers and five additional school safety associates were unanimously approved at the Sept. 20 board meeting. Board member Janey Humphries made the motion to approve the positions.
The board has been discussing an increase in these positions since fights broke out with the return of students to Harmon and Wyandotte high schools.
Superintendent Anna Stubblefield, looking into the staffing, said she discovered some training had not taken place last year because of the pandemic, as students were not in person at school for most of the year.
The hiring of some SSAs was already in the budget, and three have already been hired, according to the superintendent. Four additional law enforcement officers were added Monday. The law enforcement officers will be armed, according to district officials.
The school district has its own police department.
The district will be doing restorative training, according to the superintendent. The safety personnel also do crisis prevention training, where there was a gap this past year.
Board Vice President Yolanda Clark pointed out some inappropriate behavior at schools and activities, besides fighting. She mentioned tobacco use, and board member Wanda Paige mentioned marijuana use at the games.
“It’s not just fighting,” Clark said. “We want our schools to be a place of education, a safe place.”
After last week’s school board meeting, the superintendent and district officials had more meetings with staff and students.
Dr. Stubblefield said they discussed a program where students can be referred for 45 days. They also could review students for two alternative programs.
There is a chart from administrators outlining the current plans for assigning the officers; however, the motion did not include any locations or mentions of schools.
Randy Lopez, board president, cautioned the board not to put any specific information in their motion about where the police officers would be stationed. They just included a total number of new officers, giving the administration and district police chief the flexibility to assign and change their locations.
Ryan Denk, attorney, said if the district needed to adjust and reassign personnel, if they had specified where they are assigned, it would make it challenging to come back to the board for approval. Also, if individuals are hired on to work at a specific facility, they may resist attempts to transfer them to wherever the current needs of the organization are, according to Denk.