LOS ANGELES — Despite vocal public calls for defunding, the Los Angeles Unified School District school board rejected a proposal that would have slashed 90% of the School Police Department’s budget by 2024.
The proposal by board member Monica Garcia called for the School Police budget to be reduced by 50% in the 2021-22 fiscal year, then 75% the next year and 90% the following year, with funds redirected to the “highest need schools in support of African-American students.”
Board member Scott Schmerelson echoed that sentiment, saying public safety on school campuses does need rethinking, but he could not support a mass defunding of the school police.
The other side of the emotionally charged argument included many parents and some teachers, as well as several school police officers and students involved in the Police Explorers program.
LAUSD police — who are not part of the Los Angeles Police Department — responded to more than 100,000 emergency calls last year, including threats of mass shootings and bombs at schools, as well as robberies, sexual assaults, burglaries and other serious crimes, advocates told the board.
