WCDSB resource officer program to stay paused while board debates its future
The school resource officer program at the Waterloo Catholic District School Board will remain paused as the board and trustees continue to debate its future.
The program was put on hold last spring, amid calls for police reform.
At a virtual board meeting Monday night, trustees raised a number of concerns about the program after a consultant’s report brought to light mixed feelings from staff and students.
The report was conducted earlier this year and gathered input from students, teachers, and community members.
It found that students shared a mix of positive and negative experiences and perceptions, while staff overwhelmingly supported the officers’ approach and response to discipline issues.
“There was a large disconnect between staff and student perception and it was disappointing, to be honest, that staff didn’t have a better understanding of police on racialized students,” said Melanie Vanalphen, WCDSB chairperson.
However, the report also found that some respondents didn’t even know the program existed.
Keeping the program on pause for now was among the report’s recommendations. Trustees who spoke at the meeting also supported the move.
“I do think that there is a place for school resource officers in the school, but I do think the program has to be reimagined. I think it has to be changed,” said WCDSB trustee Wendy Price.
The board says that while program is paused, a student census will be done this fall to help shape the future of the program.
This comes just over a month after trustees with the Upper Grand District School Board voted to remove their resource officer program. Police in the area will still be responsible for transportation safety and in emergency situations, but the board will vet and notify parents in advance of any police presentations to students.
The resource officer program at the Waterloo Region District School Board is also currently suspended while the program is under review.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.