Officials from Portland Public Schools, the city of Portland, Multnomah County and the Portland Police Bureau convened on Friday for an hour-long meeting to discuss security and safety following recent shootings outside of three Portland schools.
“As education leaders, our ability to ensure a safe and positive school community requires a collective approach and coordination with public safety agencies,” said PPS Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero at a press conference following the meeting.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks at Portland Public Schools district office on Friday, January 13, 2023. Officials from the city and the school district were among those convened for an hour-long meeting to talk about safety after recent shootings outside of three Portland high schools.
Elizabeth Miller / OPB
PPS officials said school resource officers could be one component of a safety plan, but no decision has been made regarding their return to Portland schools. They were removed from PPS in 2020.
Guerrero said the district will be seeking input from staff and families on how to create more positive, safe, learning environments — and whether school resource officers will be part of that effort.
“There are no panaceas or simple solutions here, but we’re going to bring that input, and I know that our school board is going to […] remain open to what all the possibilities are,” Guerrero said. “If we can get to a point in the conversation where we have clarity about what their [school resource officers’] specific role could or could not be on our campuses.”
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said any discussions of school resource officers will consider training and the department’s staffing levels.
“We want to make sure we put the right people in that environment and that they’re trained well and properly,” Lovell said.
When it comes to staffing, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said there’s a holdup in certifying new officers in general due to a lack of space in the police training program, something he’s brought up to the Governor and the Legislature.
“We have good applicants who have already been vetted, who have already been brought on board waiting four, or five months, to be able to attend one of those academies,” Wheeler said.
In addition to systemwide suggestions, officials discussed efforts to connect with at-risk individuals and how to support students and their families in order to prevent gun violence.
Mayor Ted Wheeler shared city-led efforts to curb violence, including a summer program and a two-year, $5-million investment in “credible interveners,” people with connections to communities impacted by gun violence.
Going forward, district officials said stronger communication with the city and other agencies will serve students and their families.
“Oftentimes, we’re talking about the same youth and families in our community,” Guerrero said.
PPS school board chair Andrew Scott said PPS being at the same “tables” as the city and county will build stronger relationships and foster better communication between the district and other agencies, and will help students.
“The folks on the ground in our schools — the principals, the teachers, the families — are often the ones who can really say, ‘hey, here’s someone who really could use some additional services, and are we making sure that we’re getting that information to the folks that are running that’.”
Recently-elected Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson brought up the county’s role with students at Friday’s conversation, for example, by supporting afterschool programming, student health centers and by hiring new mental health specialists.
Arrests have been made in the Franklin High School shooting and PPB has a suspect in the Cleveland incident. Police have not shared information on any possible arrests related to the two shootings at Jefferson this past fall.
Lovell said he reached out to the high school principals shortly after each of the shootings occurred, to offer his assistance. But he said there is no consistent police presence currently at any of the schools.
“We’re happy to help as we can. We have our own issues with staffing and resources, but we do want to make sure our kids are safe in schools,” Lovell said.
Speaking about the recent shootings, Lovell said it was hard to say whether an SRO would have “prevented” any of the incidents.
“I think increased presence could be helpful, having a car there, having a person visible there, I think is a deterrent on some levels, but there are instances where there are SROs and there’s still violence that takes place at a school,” Lovell said.