RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel says district has received no complaints about SROs over past year

Jordan Shearer, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·4 min read

Apr. 10—ROCHESTER — As Rochester Public Schools prepares to renew its contract with the city's police department regarding the use of school resource officers, the district once again decided to reflect on its history and the effect those officers have when interacting with students.

The Rochester School Board on Tuesday reviewed data regarding the number of interactions between students and SROs. The district's existing contract with the Rochester Police Department will automatically renew at the end of June unless one of the parties stops it.

"The total number of students who are being involved in any incident with SROs, given that we serve about 17,500, is low," Superintendent Kent Pekel said. "Of those students who are involved in an incident with an SRO, the vast majority are resulting in no action, restorative justice, or some kind of action that does not take them into the juvenile justice system in a formal way."

Police officers have been in the city's schools for decades, but the district's leadership has become more critical about how they interact with students in recent years. Because of that, the two entities have had innumerable conversations since 2020 about the best way to host officers in the school hallways, if at all.

According to the current contract between the school district and the police department, RPS pays $35,193 per month for "all SRO services," equating to $422,316 a year. Six officers work in the district, including one at each high school, one for every two middle schools, and one to serve Phoenix Academy, which is an alternative school within the district.

"We have received no complaints about the performance or behavior of any individual school resource officer from any student, parent, or staff member in Rochester Public Schools over the past year," Pekel said.

The report from the police department indicates the offenses that have occurred, whether a citation was issued, whether there was a referral to the organization Three Rivers Restorative Justice, whether there was no action taken, and whether the situation has entered the court system.

From the start of the school year through the end of February, there have been six assaults at the high school level, six assaults at the middle school level, and one assault at either Phoenix Academy or the Alternative Learning Center. Of those 13 situations, three resulted in citations, four resulted in no action, four were referred to Three Rivers Restorative Justice, and two are in the court system.

There were 16 instances of disorderly conduct at the high school, 18 at the middle school level, one at the elementary school level, and one at either Phoenix Academy or the Alternative Learning Center. Of that total of 38, 26 received no action by the police department, seven received citations, three were referred to Three Rivers Restorative Justice, one was in court, and one was still open.

School Board member Jess Garcia said the district should provide more context in the report when there are no actions taken by the police department. She used the example of disorderly conduct.

"There were 38 incidents and 26 of them resulted in no action," Garcia said. "To me, that means we did nothing when I get that means we actually did something else rather than getting the kid in trouble and putting them in the criminal justice system."

There were nine instances of theft at the high school level, and one at the middle school level. Of that total, nine involved no action by the police department, and one was referred to Three Rivers Restorative Justice.

There were three documented reports of sexual assault, one of which resulted in no action by the SRO and two were in court.

There have been two instances of drug paraphernalia at the high school level, and four at the middle school level. Of that total, none resulted in any action by the police department.

There were three instances of harassment at the high school level, and four at the middle school level. Five of that total resulted in no action by the PD, one was referred to Three Rivers Restorative Justice and one case was still open.

Even though the district continues to monitor and evaluate its relationship with the Rochester Police Department, board member Karen MacLaughlin indicated that the situation has improved over what it used to be. She also emphasized the district's progress in separating discipline data from data involving the actions of the SROs.

"I think that's been a major goal since we started looking at this issue," MacLaughlin said. "I appreciate there's nowhere near the level of angst and anxiety when talking about this contract this time around that there has been previously."