- Credibility:
LITTLE VILLAGE — Farragut Career Academy local school council members unanimously voted to keep police officers at the Little Village school Thursday morning.
During a brief meeting, the eight-member council voted in favor of keeping school resource officers at the high school, 2345 S. Christiana Ave.
Council member Sandra Mora said the school resource officer program has led to positive changes at the school. Other council members also spoke in support of keeping school resource officers.
No community members spoke when the meeting opened for public comment.
Following the vote, Principal Tonya Hammaker said this was the third unanimous vote taken by the council to keep resource officers.
The vote was cast by school officials, parents and community members that comprise the local school council. A former student representative on the council graduated this year but voted in favor of keeping officers during two previous votes, Hammaker said
Last month, the Chicago Board of Education narrowly voted against removing officers from all public schools. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools chief Janice Jackson also chose not to unilaterally make any decisions about the contract with Chicago police, instead leaving the decision to local school councils.
Having police officers in schools has become a focal point in national demonstrations protesting police violence in the wake of police killing George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Several large cities, including Minneapolis, have moved to remove police from public schools.
More than 70 schools have to vote on the issue by Aug. 15, per a mandate from CPS. That gives these boards about a month to decide a critical issue that’s been hotly debated for years.
The CPS board will take another vote later in the summer on whether to renew the district’s $33 million contract with police.
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