Fremont Unified board votes narrowly to end school resource officer program

FREMONT, Calif. - The Fremont Unified School District Board has narrowly voted to end its school resource officer program.

The board voted 3-to-2 shortly after midnight on Friday.

The decision follows a task force recommendation that police officers should not regularly be stationed on school campuses.

The task force found that students of color are disproportionately impacted by on-campus police.

The school resource officer program has been in place for more than 20 years.

Principals at all six high schools in Fremont are opposed to ending the program.

Before the vote, Fremont Police Chief Kimberly Petersen said she was  "really disappointed and frankly blindsided by how this task force progressed." 

Petersen said she welcomes the feedback but said police did not have a seat at the table. In 22 years, the program has never had any formal complaints. She said SROs are critical.

In Oakland, school board members also discussed plans on how to oversee schools without a police department. In June, the school board voted to eliminate the school police program and use a "Climate and Culture Unit" comprised of social workers, psychologists and restorative justice coaches instead. 

An Oakland task force found that police are not required to most calls for service at the district's campuses. In a typical year, police make 2,200 visits, the study found, and only 6% required a police response. 

KTVU's Lisa Fernandez contributed to this report.