LAUSD abruptly pulls school police officers from troubled campuses

A plan for more police patrols at some Los Angeles schools seems to be shut down after some officers had already been deployed to so-called "troubled" campuses.

"Of course, I hear the helicopters. I hear about the lockdown and I'm always afraid something going to happen," parent Tamara Toban said. 

Toban is a parent at Washington Preparatory High School. She is concerned about the growing number of incidents and crimes on and near campus. She had just brought her daughter Tamia back to school after attending the funeral of one of her classmates. The 15-year-old boy was shot and killed during a fight that broke out near the school back in April. 

"I just lost a friend down there at 7-Eleven because of bullying and violence that was going on," Tamia said. "That was very traumatic for me and people here at Washington."

This is one of the reasons Tamara is thankful to see LA Schools Police patrolling the area. She was glad to hear an officer was assigned back on campus Monday. However, she's disappointed now the officer was pulled out. 

"I feel better when they're here, to be honest, but I know the kids might not like it," Tamara said. "It makes us feel safe as parents."

Los Angeles Unified School District Board President Jackie Goldberg told KCAL News that Superintendent Alberto Carvalho directed the dispatching and assignment of school police officers to troubled middle and high school campuses. The deployment of one officer per campus was supposed to last through the end of the school year.

The Los Angeles Times reported the schools were chosen based on the severity of incidents both on and near the campuses. The Times reported that two schools are Washington Prep and Northridge Middle School. 

Goldberg said school board members were not notified about the move. She told KCAL News that they never authorized the action and that what the superintendent did was a result of his interpretation of what he thought was a policy change made at a discussion in April. 

After anti-police protests in 2020, the school board voted to ban police from campus and approved a 35% cut to the school police budget. Goldberg said their current policy states that officers will be dispatched to a campus when there is a call for help and stay a few days if necessary. She said officers are not supposed to be assigned to certain schools and stationed there for weeks at a time. 

"I like them here," Tamara said. 

Goldberg said she plans to meet with Carvalho to clear up the confusion and schedule a meeting where the board will decide the limits of the actual policy.