Dear Members and Associates,

This is a brief call to action asking members to attend the upcoming school board meetings on July 7th (no public comment) and July 21st (full meeting) in an effort to help get School Resource Officers (SROs) out of the Duluth Public Schools.

This subject has recently been broached by two of the petitions mentioned during the recent Juneteenth event in Duluth. If you have not signed them already, here are links:

We Want SROs Out of Our Schools! (Started by Duluth Students)

Duluth School Board: No More Police in Our Schools!

Here is a helpful quote from the first petition explaining the importance of this push:

"According to information from the Equal Justice Initiative, compared to schools without officers, schools with officers are 2.5 times more likely to refer students to law enforcement and 3.1 times more likely to arrest students. Thus, with the racial disparities already present in DPS disciplinary practices, SROs in our schools extend the reach of the school-to-prison pipeline.

Instead of SROs in our schools, we would like to see funding be spent on increasing the accessibility of resources that can be helpful to all students. These possibilities include, but are not limited to, increased hiring of staff who act as social workers and counselors [specifically those trained to work on the specific needs of BIPOC students]"

In addition to these petitions, however, it is also vital to make sure there is more direct community involvement and pressure on the board to make necessary changes.

During TPDSA's most recent general meeting we discussed the reasons why it is vital to have a presence at school board meetings and to pay attention to what is happening in our local school district more generally.

This task is more accessible than ever while school board meetings are being held online. Here are links to the YouTube livestream for the upcoming meetings:

July 7th - Meeting Begins at 4:25 pm
July 21 - Meeting Begins at 6:25 pm

[The July 21 meeting accepts public comment, and you can always contact school board members here]

In Solidarity,

Lydia Goustin

[note: at our membership meeting last night we voted to support efforts to get the police out of Duluth schools and instead spend that money supporting students in much healthier ways. We also formed a Racial Justice Working Group, chaired by Lydia Goustin and Mary Owen, dedicated to pushing local racial justice issues, supporting other organizations already engaged in that effort, and making sure our other efforts include racial justice elements. If you would like to be part of this working group, reply to this email and I will pass on your information. --John Krumm, secretary]