PV Trustees approve campus officers at WHS, PVHS

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District on Sept. 11 unanimously approved a contract to utilize Watsonville Police officers at Watsonville and Pajaro high schools, a move that drew both scorn and praise from the people attending the board meeting.

But it may be a while before the plan is implemented, because Watsonville Police Department is currently working to fill its own rosters, spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.

The idea of placing School Resource Officers on high school campuses has been controversial for years, with some saying that their presence brings a measure of safety to students and staff.

But others say that the presence of an armed officer brings heightened levels of anxiety to young people—particularly Black and Latinx students—and contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline.

The trustees in 2020 eliminated the program at Aptos, Pajaro Valley and Watsonville high schools, opting to shift the funds to socio-economic counselors.

The board reversed that decision one year later after a student at Aptos High School was stabbed to death on campus after school.

District officials now plan to pair a law enforcement officer with a mental health clinician at the school campuses, the same model employed by WPD. That program is now in place only at Aptos High School.

But the issue drew several speakers who asked the board to not approve the contract, a decision that would likely have ended the SRO program again.

Watsonville High history teacher Bobby Pelz said the money would be better spent on mental health services. He also asked for a report on the efficacy of the SRO program.

“I understand that SROs make some in the community feel safer, but how we feel and what is actually happening are two different things,” he said.

Bernie Gomez agreed, and stressed that his opposition is not a statement against police.

“There are other ways to create safety,” he said. “There are other ways to create a secure and safe learning environment. There are other ways to spend money.”

Gabriel Barraza said that police officers’ role in society is dealing with dangerous people.

“But high school students are not those people,” Barraza said. “Middle school students are not those people.

Most people, Barraza said, commit crimes because of a lack of resources and community and support, or have suffered trauma. Addressing those needs would eliminate many problems that require police intervention.

Trustee Daniel Dodge pointed to data showing SRO programs are effective.

“I disagree that it doesn’t work at Watsonville High School,” Dodge said. “My daughter goes there, her friends. My constituents have family there that believe it does work.”

Trustee Oscar Soto agreed, and pointed to the Aptos High stabbing that occurred in the wake of the decision to remove the officers.

I spoke with deputies who were part of that critical incident, and unfortunately, the level the district played that incident down was unreal, because they did not call it a homicide, it was an ‘incident,’” Soto said. “…The minute they were removed, something happened.”

Student trustee Daniel Esqueda disagreed that there was a correlation between the stabbing and the removal of SROs. 

“A lot of people failed to take into account that students had just returned from the Covid pandemic, and did not have any socialization for almost a year,” he said. 

Having an SRO on campus, Esqueda  said, is “extremely difficult,” and creates fear among students.

Board President Georgia Acosta, who was one of two dissenting votes in the original decision to remove SROs, said she was not willing to end the program and leave the district regretting it again if another violent incident occurs. 

“I will not let that fall on my back on my shoulders,” she said.