Oak Park and River Forest High School’s board of education approved, on Oct. 23, a new intergovernmental agreement between the high school and Village of Oak Park concerning the funding of a school resource officer that’s been provided by the village for over a decade.
But the decision did not come without reservations from some board members.
Sharon Patchak-Layman was the only one of the seven to vote against the IGA, which calls for the high school to pick up the cost for the one SRO through 2025, roughly $145,000 annually, which covers salary and benefits. The high school and village would split that cost after 2025.
Patchak-Layman questioned whether this is a good use of the school’s funds, given that the village has funded the one SRO — currently Oak Park Police Officer Manuel Ruiz — since 1999.
The village and high school began working on the new agreement last year.
Board President John Phelan said, according to the village, that there was no more money available to fund the officer in the village’s budget, resulting in the SRO potentially being pulled from the high school. There was also a shared feeling that it was the high school’s turn to pick up the cost moving forward, Phelan said.
But Patchak-Layman insisted that this should be the village’s responsibility. She also questioned whether having a police officer serving in any kind of “counseling” role at the school was appropriate. She added that there have been no reports or assessment done on what the SRO does and how effective the post is on campus.
“All we have is anecdotal information,” Patchak-Layman said. “We have no information about how much time the school resource officer spends with students; we don’t know how many students he has seen. We don’t know how many times he calls other police officers to come in, or checks back with the department to see how he wants to proceed. So we’re looking at a program, while it’s been in place for 12 years, we have nothing that we can look at to say ‘this is why we’re doing this program.'”
Patchak-Layman said the money for the SRO could go toward adding, for instance, more counselors.
In response, Principal Nate Rouse said that the school resource officer has been a benefit to the campus and students. Rouse, though, stressed that the SRO’s role should not be confused with those counselors contracted to the high school through Oak Park-based Thrive Counseling Center.
“I think that those are two entirely separate entities,” Rouse said, however, noting that the current SRO does have a background in social work. “As it relates to our school resource officer in particular, the individual, Officer Ruiz; he’s been with us for two years. I have seen his work. He is a sworn police officer and knows the difference in the work of the liaison, the school resource officer, and the administration. We have not had any issue here with him in blurring those lines.”
Rouse added that having an SRO on campus creates a different, and better, dynamic with students versus bringing random officers into the building.
“When he is here, he certainly acts as a liaison first, as opposed to someone who’s here just carrying a badge,” Rouse said, adding that the SRO is able to build relationships with students and staff in the building to head off problems before they arise.
Board member Jackie Moore voted for the IGA but with her own reservations.
The board is scheduled to have a retreat on Dec. 6, to discuss the school’s discipline system, policies and overall philosophy in this area. Moore felt that the IGA vote should happen after that retreat.
She ultimately voted for the agreement following a modification of language in the motion on the table to approve it. Though either party can pull out of it with 30-day notice — explained D200 CFO Tod Altenburg — board member Jeff Weissglass amended the motion to take into account the board’s retreat, where the SRO role will be reviewed and discussed.
CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com