1,000 signatures reached
To: Members of the KCSD School Board and Superintendent Padalino
Immediate Removal of School Resource Officers from Kingston City School District
We demand the $369,368.90 our district committed to spend in the 2019-2020 school year to criminalize our children should be used for counselors and education, not to feed the School to Prison Pipeline.
Our demands are as follows:
1. An immediate and permanent cancellation of contracts with Kingston Police Department, Ulster Police Department and all law enforcement.
2. A commitment to reinvest those funds into Mental Health and Community Resources for the children in the district.
3. Investigate all complaints of Police Violence and Misconduct that have been reported to the school district.
Why is this important?
We - Students, Parents, Family Members, Teachers, & Community Members demand our children see a brighter future - one where they are supported, not criminalized.
Time and time again, children in the Kingston City School District have fallen victim to racial profiling, violence, sexual harassment, and trauma at the hands of the police. Due to the lack of Police Accountability, no justice has been served for most of the children who have been harmed.
We do not understand why we have police in our schools. The narrative that Police make things safer has been disproved numerous times, An SRO at Marjory Stoneman Douglas never even entered the school during the shooting.
Police contact can also hinder children’s educational performance through negative health consequences related to stress, fear, trauma, and anxiety (Geller et al. 2014; Golembeski and Fullilove 2005; Sugie and Turney 2017)
The Memorandum Of Understanding between the KCSD and The Police Department says:
“Under state law, the SRO shall not serve as a school disciplinarian, as an enforcer of school regulations, or in place of school-based mental health providers, and the SRO shall not use police powers to address traditional school discipline issues.”
Despite the contract, the SROs in the schools are routinely involved in disciplining the children - criminalizing them at a young age.
The $369,368.90 our district committed to spend in the 19-20 school year to criminalize our children should be used for counselors and education, not to feed the School to Prison Pipeline.
We demand:
1. An immediate and permanent cancellation of contracts with Kingston Police Department, Ulster Police Department and all law enforcement.
2. A commitment to reinvest those funds into Mental Health and Community Resources for the children in the district.
3. Investigate all complaints of Police Violence and Misconduct that have been reported to the school district.
Please sign the petition and contact members of the KCSD School Board and Superintendent Padalino to support the removal of School Resource Officers from KCSD and the reallocation of those funds towards mental health resources.
In Solidarity,
R!SE UP KINGSTON