Vancouver School Board votes to reinstate school liaison officer program
CBC
On Monday night, the Vancouver School Board voted 5-4 in favour of reinstating a school liaison officer (SLO) program in public schools.
Prior to the vote, trustees spent several evenings hearing from dozens of delegates about their experiences — both good and bad — with the program.
Multiple trustees brought motions to delay the vote, hoping for more information and consultation with individuals and communities that would be affected the most by the reinstating of the SLO program. Those motions ultimately failed.
Trustee Suzie Mah pointed out that it took more than a year for previous trustees to dismantle the program, and it's been just weeks since this new slate of trustees took office and already they've reversed that decision.
In April 2021, the Vancouver School Board voted 8–1 to end the program, which stationed Vancouver Police Department officers throughout the district's 17 high schools.
It was axed due to concerns about the impact that police presence in schools had on the mental and physical well-being of students, especially students of colour. The VPD said the program was about student engagement and making schools safe and inclusive.
More than a year later, the ABC slate of municipal candidates, led by now-Mayor Ken Sim, vowed the program would return.
"The complete removal of the SLO program ... I just don't see that moving us closer to the goal," Trustee Joshua Zhang said during Monday night's school board meeting. "The program is about, first and foremost, prevention of crime."
The ABC party holds four out of nine VSB trusteeships, and a fifth trustee is a former member of ABC. All five voted in favour of reinstating the program.
Trustees Lois Chan-Pedley, Janet Fraser, Mah and Jennifer Reddy all voted against the motion.
Ian Rowe, a member of the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council, said the council was surprised at how quickly the motion came forward.
"What it looks like right now is an indication about a brand new group of trustees who are making to look good on [an] election promise," Rowe said. "But at the same time, there's a significant amount of complexities."
Ahead of Monday's vote, B.C.'s Human Rights Commissioner wrote a letter to the B.C. School Trustees Association calling for the end of SLO programs.
Commissioner Kasari Govender recommended that the programs be ended by all school districts unless they can demonstrate an evidence-based need for them that can't be met some other way.
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