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Petition Calls for 'Counselors Not Cops'
PA United pushes to end the Erie School District's police contract
June 30, 2020 at 12:12 PM
paunited.org
An online petition at paunited.org is gathering signatures to send to the Erie School Board. The organization's local branch, Erie County United, organized this drive to push for the implementation of counselors over a police presence in schools. Specifically, signees are seeking to immediately terminate the Erie School District's annual contract with the police force. The petition also calls for 1 million dollars to be reallocated so a to fund additional school resources and staff. Additions such as more counselors, bluecoats, nurses, and a licensed therapist at each school would serve to "lift students up in their development rather than speed up the school-to-prison pipeline" according to the petition's online description.
A special session of the School District's Board of Directors is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30 to discuss the proposed 2020-2021 budget.
The signed letter – sent to Gwendolyn Cooley, Darlene Feeney, John Harkins, Angela McNair, Sumner Nichols, Lori A. Pickens, Rosemary C. Sheridan, Thomas A. Spagel, and Tyler Titus – reads as:
I am a concerned citizen, residing at: [your zip code]. I am petitioning you to terminate the Erie School District's contract with the police force. As a resident who funds the Erie School District's budget, I want the entirety of the million dollars currently budgeted for policing in our public schools to be redirected to resources that will help to lift students up in their development rather than speed up the school-to-prison pipeline. I am calling on you to: (1) Immediately terminate the annual contract between the Erie School District and the police force. (2) Reallocate the 1 million dollars previously allocated to policing schools to other school resources such as more counselors, more bluecoats, more school nurses, and a licensed therapist in each public school.
To view and sign the petition, go to: paunited.org/petition-erie-school-board-counselors-not-cops/