WATSONVILLE >> In a pair of 4-2 votes, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to renew contracts to fund school resource officers at the district’s three comprehensive high schools.

Under this model, law enforcement officers are paired with mental health clinicians to address physical and social emotional needs on campus. School resource officers are tasked with investigating crimes that occur on or near the campus that involve students and their school attendance, participating in the district’s School Attendance Review Board and serving as a liaison between the district and police department. They work with district partners in delivering law enforcement-related prevention activities such as gang awareness and School Safety Days, and provide the district with bimonthly invoices at least 30 days before the payment is due.

The first contract was between the district and Watsonville Police Department to provide an officer at each of the district’s high schools within city limits — Watsonville High School and Pajaro Valley High School — with the district reimbursing the city no more than $291,630.

The second contract was with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to provide a deputy at Aptos High School, who would be paid $816.18 per day with the Sheriff’s Office covering 25% of the cost.

Heather Gorman, PVUSD’s interim executive director of student support services, said the district issued a survey to the community, which indicated that most respondents support having school resource officers on campus.

“What the data is showing us is that the students, staff and parents are in favor of SROs (school resource officers),” she said.

The public comments yielded a variety of speakers who were both in favor of and against having school resource officers on campus. Many of those who spoke in favor were members of Santa Cruz County Republicans and Aptos parents who reminded the board of the fatal on-campus stabbing of Aptos High student Gerardo Sarabia in 2021. Proponents emphasized that was a year after the board voted to remove school resource officers from the campus. The board later voted to reinstate them.

“This heartbreaking loss showed our community and exposed vulnerabilities in our schools when law enforcement is absent,” Mike Lelieur, chair of the Santa Cruz County Republicans wrote in a statement read by the organization’s secretary, Erin Johnson. “Sheriff Jim Hart stated that while no one can say an SRO would have definitively prevented this tragedy, their presence deters dangerous behavior such as carrying weapons and ensures quicker response times in emergencies.”

Troy Martin said removing school resource officers would put students at risk.

“Police presence on campus doesn’t just serve as a deterrent,” he said. “It brings peace and allows (students) to get something precious: to concentrate on learning and growth.”

Kristin Hurley said the school resource officer program was supported by the community, citing the survey.

“We have fantastic data on how the community feels about the SRO program,” she said.

However, not all felt the survey was sufficient evidence of the program’s popularity, as some noted that the survey had language barriers and was sent out via email when not all families have access to computers or internet.

“You guys are not representing the overwhelming amount of parents,” said Lourdes Barraza.

Opponents of the program said they felt that school resource officers did not make campuses safer and disproportionately targeted students of color. Bernie Gomez, program and leadership coordinator of MILPA Collective, said there was no data to indicate that students were safer with school resource officers present and disputed the notion that opponents were against public safety or law enforcement.

“We want public safety, we want students safe,” he said. “We just believe that we can find better solutions that are more cost-effective than just having this false sense of security.”

Omar Dieguez, a mentor with Barrios Unidos, felt the money could be better spent elsewhere.

“What we need is mentors, what we need is more counselors,” he said. “That’s what we need to build stronger and empower our youth.”

Others felt the Sheriff’s Office should be footing the entire bill for the Aptos contract, not just 25% of it.

Trustee Gabriel Medina echoed sentiments that having school resource officers on campus did not deter violence, citing the mass shootings in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 and Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.

“Presence is not prevention,” he said. “Prevention starts with trust, relationship and mental health services, not uniforms and firearms.”

Gorman said the district was working on a student services handbook to clarify for the community the role of a school resource officer. Trustee Jessica Carrasco asked when it would be available to the public, and Gorman said a draft was ready and the district hoped to have it finalized before the start of the academic year.

“I personally would feel a lot more comfortable knowing what I’m saying yes to or what I’m saying no to,” said Carrasco.

Trustee Daniel Dodge Jr. said he would support the contracts as he felt they were what his constituents wanted and that law enforcement officers were necessary to ensuring public safety.

“They want to be here,” he said. “They want to make sure our high schools are safe for every student and for every family.”

The council voted 4-2 to approve each contract. For both contracts, Dodge, President Olivia Flores, Vice President Misty Navarro and Trustee Carol Turley voted in favor, while Carrasco and Medina voted against. Trustee Joy Flynn was absent for medical reasons.