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October 3, 2023 <br />Mayor Amezcua and City Councilmembers <br />20 Civic Center Plaza <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />Via Email <br />RE: OPPOSE Item 12: Approve a Three -Year Agreement with the Garden Grove Unified <br />School District for School Resource Officer Services in the Amount of $630,657 Payable to the <br />City of Santa Ana <br />Dear Mayor Amezcua and City Councilmembers, <br />Chispa urges you to vote NO on Item 12, the proposal to contract with the Garden Grove <br />Unified School District (GGUSD) for School Resource Officer Services. Instead we urge you to <br />invest in proactive safety measures like crossing guards and other services that better address the <br />safety concerns of students in the City. <br />Earlier this year, the Council made a decision to reject the funding of $7 million for school <br />crossing guards for students in our City.' This decision severely disappointed many community <br />members. The safety of our students should always be a top priority, and providing them with <br />safe routes to school is an essential component of that commitment. By rejecting funding for <br />crossing guards, the City failed to invest in a resource that has a direct and immediate impact on <br />the safety of our students. This agreement highlights the School District's and the City's <br />misplaced priorities. <br />Extensive research has not shown any connection between school police and school safety; <br />police in schools do not make schools safer. On the contrary, there is substantial research that <br />shows school policing's harmful effects on students of color. For example, a 2018 report <br />concludes that law enforcement in school only "satisfies our desire to appear secure, but wreaks <br />' Pho, Brandon, Will Santa Ana Kids Go Without Crossing Guards Over A Funding Spat?, The Voice of OC (May <br />18, 2023), https://voiceofoc.org/2023/05/will-santa-ana-kids-go-without-crossing-guards-over-a-bitter-funding-spat/ <br />