TDSB votes out police officer protection at high schools

The Toronto and District School Board has voted to end the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.  The outcome was well telegraphed beginning with publication of a staff report last week that called for such a decision. The vote was 18 to 3. At issue, as stated by trustees, was that some students (perhaps 2,000 out of 15,000) said they were uncomfortable and felt as if they were being watched by the police. There were heartfelt concerns expressed that these “intimidated” students should be free from such pressure. There was however opinion beyond the board that cancelling the program against the majority opinion was not the most sensible way to address the fears expressed by the minority.