As a Madison community member, a parent of two Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) students and having worked in various capacities with young people in this community for the past four years, I believe MMSD should be a place that helps foster the resourcefulness, resilience, and genius that exists in all students. My vision for the schools in my community does not include having children’s behavior being addressed by armed police officers. Because I am a white parent of two white children, I also know that my own children are far less likely to have encounters with police around discipline than their black and brown peers. I do not want my children to grow up accepting this inequity as the norm.
I was outraged that the severe racial disparities which exist in this community were largely absent from the conversation at the August 29th Board of Estimates meeting regarding the educational resource officers (ERO) contract renewal with MMSD. It puts the Mayor Paul Soglin’s leadership on this matter (and in this community) in question when attention is not given to the ways in which racial disparities in disciplinary actions contribute to Madison being one of the worst places in the country for black and brown children (see 2013 Race to Equity report). The mayor of the city is supposed to represent the entire community and I am concerned that the mayor is only listening to and representing people in this community who look like him.
It was at that Aug. 29 Board of Estimates meeting where I first learned about the mayor’s adamant refusal to consider the potential of a one-year renewal as suggested by the MMSD Board of Education. This differs from the Board of Education’s approach to this issue as they are currently listening to what youth of color and their families are saying about their experiences with EROs in our schools. Our elected officials have the responsibility to listen to the community when making decisions of the voices most impacted by the ERO placement in schools, the young people of color and their families who consistently speak to the negative experiences they encounter because of the ERO presence.
“While listening to the teachers, administrators and staff is important, listening to community members, even when they are saying things you may not want to hear, is also important. I question the ethical and moral implications of saying that budget and increased workload concerns have more value in this conversation than the lives, experiences, and futures of the young black and brown people in this community.”
The mayor quite clearly stated his position as being for either no contract or a three-year renewal of the contract and against the one-year renewal, even if that should be what the Board of Education supports. In the conversation that followed, the mayor consistently brought up concerns about finances and a City budget shortfall should MMSD not renew for the full three years expressing particular concern about what will happen to the three police officers that would be affected as part of the new recruit class. I feel at this time that we cannot prioritize finances and careers of police officers over the voices of those most impacted by the actual presence of these officers in the schools.
Lastly, it was clear that the Madison Police Department seems to be in favor of the three-year contract and does not want to consider a one-year contract because it would be more work to have to re-negotiate with MMSD more often. In my professional experience, a complaint about my own workload does not take priority over the importance of trying to bring racial equity to a system. In fact, racial equity should be the number-one priority in a city that is among the worst in the country for black and brown children. From my experience working in this district, I have seen additional work piled on for teachers, administrators and other school staff in efforts to reduce racial disparities in this system. I am not sure why the Police Department would be exempt from an increased workload in order to allow a more thorough exploration of alternatives that have the potential to increase racial equity.
In closing, I ask that the mayor — and the greater community — consider the importance of listening to those actually impacted by the ERO placement in our schools. While listening to the teachers, administrators and staff is important, listening to community members, even when they are saying things you may not want to hear, is also important. I question the ethical and moral implications of saying that budget and increased workload concerns have more value in this conversation than the lives, experiences, and futures of the young black and brown people in this community.
