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GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 10331 Stanford Avenue • Garden Grove, California 92840-6353 Phone: (714) 663-6000 • Fax: (714) 663-6100 September 29, 2023 Dear Santa Ana City Council, BOARD OF EDUCATION Walter Muneton President Teri Rocco Vice President Bob Harden Dina L. Nguyen, Esq. Lan Quoc Nguyen, Esq. SUPERINTENDENT Gabriela Mafi, Ed.D. I am writing to urge you to vote yes on Agenda Item 412, which would approve a three-year agreement with the Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD), providing approval for the Santa Ana Police Department to staff one full-time School Resource Officer to our school district. I will also be attending the October 3 City Council meeting to show my support. GGUSD is the third largest school district in Orange County with 67 schools serving approximately 38,000 students. Our district covers 28 square miles. and has schools located in five cities including 50 schools in Garden Grove, six in Santa Ana, six in Westminster, four in Fountain Valley, and one in Stanton. We currently have six School Resource Officers from the Garden Grove Police Department (three with support dogs), one from the Westminster Police Department, and we are hoping to secure one from the City of Santa Ana and one from the City of Fountain Valley. In GGUSD, safety is our highest priority. Since our district does not have its own police department, we have worked collaboratively with our local police departments to build an effective School Resource Officer program that is highly valued by our Board of Education, district, school administrators, staff, families, and students. We have worked hand -in -hand with the Garden Grove and Westminster Police Departments to create a program that is mutually beneficial to our school district and our partner police departments. GGUSD School Resource Officers do a phenomenal job ensuring the safety of our schools, implementing safety protocols, providing training and resources to school administrators and serving as role models and trusted adults to our students. On a regular basis, they investigate threatening comments, safeguard schools from nearby police activity, recover stolen property, assist families with crisis scenarios, provide expertise to emergency situations, visit classrooms, and serve as mentors on our campuses. With nearly 20% of our GGUSD students and their families residing in Santa Ana, it is especially important to us that our Santa Ana schools are receiving the same high-level of law enforcement support as our schools in Garden Grove. We are proud to be part of the Santa Ana community and our schools regularly showcase that sense of community pride — attending community events, partnering with Santa Ana businesses and welcoming elected officials to all of our school and district events. Having a School Resource Officer from the Santa Ana Police Department, who knows the city and its families and who cares about keeping children safe would be invaluable to our district. Sincerely, (gab 'i e, Gabriela Mafi, Ed.D. Superintendent (Year 10) Garden Grove Unified School District