The Akron Board of Education voted Monday to approve a new memorandum of understanding with the city to again place 14 police officers into middle and high schools throughout the district.
The Akron Public Schools board had held off for months on approving the agreement, voting it down in April over concerns about the district lacking authority to remove officers from buildings. Instead, the previous memorandum required the district to first get approval from the chief of police to remove any officer.
As discussions continued into mid-August, Mayor Shammas Malik and Akron Education Association president Pat Shipe last week expressed concerns in separate statements about the district not having officers deployed at schools by the time school starts for most students on Aug. 25. Malik welcomed the new agreement in a statement Monday night.
"We have a long partnership with APS to have our officers in school buildings for the safety and security of Akron’s students, staff, and faculty," Malik said. "Our officers bring significant value to the schools and our community by building relationships with students and staff in addition to the security they provide. We’re looking forward to the school year ahead."
The new contract has several provisions relating to removal of officers. If the board of education has concerns about an officer, it will have a discussion with the city's police chief "promptly and confidentially." The board can request removal of the officer if those discussions don't clear up the issue, and the decision ultimately will be honored by the city. There are two paths outlined:
- The board can request "temporary and immediate" relocation of a school resource officer to a "non-student district location." The city agrees to "prioritize, and proceed with all deliberate speed" to move the officer in that case.
- The board can also request permanent removal of an officer. If the police chief disagrees, the board will need to submit a written request; upon receiving that request, the city will agree to remove an officer. The city does not guarantee it can replace any officers removed this way.
The district agreed to pay the city for the officers' work, up to $2.62 million over the next two years.
The contract also includes language that prevents the city from placing an officer in a school as "the result of an involuntary transfer or a disciplinary action;" for use of force reports to be provided to the school once investigations are complete; and for police to follow all Akron Police Department rules and procedures, including wearing body cameras.
Board Member Greg Harrison, who formerly was a school resource officer at APS through the Akron Police Department, said the new language around removing officers will only be used in "extreme" cases.
"We don't wanna disparage the police in any way," Harrison said. "We appreciate the partnerships. We appreciate what they do in our schools."
He said the board pushing for the new language was about protecting students.
"We protect children against staff if need be," Harrison said. "...we have the duty to protect children against parents. You know, it's just accountability. That's what this thing comes down to. Unfortunately, any profession, you're going to have people that maybe shouldn't be in that profession."
