Three Osseo school board members who voted against a resolution that would have been a first step in getting school resource officers (SROs) back in schools have a public history of opposition to police.
Ambiguous language in state legislation prompted police departments to pull out of public schools.
School board members Thomas Brooks, Tamara Grady, and Jackie Mosqueda-Jones all voted against the resolution at the Oct. 24 meeting, and each signed a letter written by Local Progress criticizing law enforcement’s actions after Daunte Wright was fatally shot by police in 2021.
Communities are demanding justice for Daunte Wright.
The violent response by police & military is unconscionable.
Today, local elected officials across MN demand @GovTimWalz, @MayorFrey & Sheriff Hutchinson end Operation Safety Net’s approach immediately.
📝 Their statement: pic.twitter.com/ZFlbntzCHZ
— Local Progress (@LocalProgress) April 15, 2021
Specifically, the letter criticized Operation Safety Net, a joint law enforcement operation formed by the state to prepare for any violence or rioting during the Derek Chauvin trial, which was taking place when Wright was killed. As such, the operation was utilized in responding to the riots following Wright’s death.
“We condemn the choice made by law enforcement this week to meet protests against police brutality with police violence,” the letter said. “We must create [a] safe space for our communities’ rage, mourning, and collective action for justice for Daunte Wright.”
The letter also called for dropping all charges against rioters and ceasing the use of tear gas and curfews to control the violence.
Before casting her “no” vote, Mosqueda-Jones said she “supports the police,” despite her signature on the 2021 letter. She said she feels the SRO issue is a “communication” problem between legislators and law enforcement.
Brooks, who is on the organizing committee of Local Progress, said he doesn’t feel “connected” to the resolution.
“I don’t see the connection between this [resolution] and school safety,” he said.
He added state legislators and leaders are aware of the issue, and by drafting a resolution, he feels that the school board is “trying to jump on a train that has left the station.” He said the board is “inserting itself” into a conversation about school safety that it doesn’t need to be involved in.
Local Progress is a left-wing movement comprised of local elected officials “advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government.”
The resolution failed in a 3-3 vote. In a tie vote, the measure automatically fails.
If passed, the resolution would have called upon the state legislature to clarify language around the use of force so police departments would feel confident putting their officers back in schools.
In the past, the board agreed unanimously to support the SRO contract, according to Tanya Simons, a school board member who brought the resolution forward at last week’s meeting.
“The fact that we don’t have our SROs in our schools right now should be a key priority and concern to our school board. It is to our community. It is to our parents,” she said. “We want the legislature to clarify language so SROs can return to schools for the safety of students and staff.”
Chiefs of police from from Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove spoke in support of the resolution.
Chief Mark Burley of Brooklyn Park said that only 36 days into the school year, the Brooklyn Park Police Department had received 40 911 calls from three schools in the district.
A student survey indicated that 94 percent of students said they felt safer with SROs in the building.
“I am disappointed that we couldn’t advocate for a very reasonable solution to the state legislature for a program that we previously voted 6-0 to approve,” Simons said.
Sheila Qualls
Sheila Qualls is an award-winning journalist and former civilian editor of an Army newspaper. Prior to joining Alpha News, she was a Christian Marriage and Family columnist at Patheos.com and a personal coach. Her work has been published in The Upper Room, the MOPS blog, Grown and Flown, and The Christian Post. She speaks nationally on issues involving faith and family.
