Chicago Public Schools

More Chicago Schools to Vote on Removing CPD Resource Officers

The board rejected a proposal to remove officers in June from Chicago Public Schools by a narrow 4-3 vote

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Several city schools announced they will postpone voting until Wednesday night on whether to remove Chicago Police resource officers from their campuses.

School boards at Wells Community Academy, Lindblom Math and Science Academy, George Washington High School, along with several others, said they needed more input from the community before making a proposal.

The Chicago Board of Education voted in late June to continue the public school district's contract with the Chicago Police Department, keeping officers in schools despite protests that called for their removal.

The board rejected a proposal to remove CPD officers from Chicago Public Schools by a narrow 4-3 vote. The board plans to take another vote before the $33 million contract with CPD expires in August.

The contract assigns nearly 200 police officers to city schools in order to provide more security to students. Several aldermen have been divided on the issue with some saying officers should be removed and others saying their roles should be redefined.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Tuesday that the decision of whether or not to remove officers should be left to individual school boards because they understand the circumstances.

Another school has already voted to remove CPD officers from their school grounds, putting funding into other resources.

Northside College Preparatory High School on the city’s Northwest Side has voted to remove police presence from its campus for the 2020-2021 academic year.  

The local school council made the decision early July to remove its school resource officer, making them the first Chicago Public Schools institution in the district to do so.

In a press release, CPS Alumni for Abolition call the near-unanimous vote a "meaningful step" to make students feel safe at school.

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