Two residents say that they support Kincardine council’s decision to not fund a school resource officer in the 2024 budget.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, Meag Durkin and Christina Roppel-Wahi say that by not funding the resource officer, council made a good financial decision.
“Each year, council’s budget decisions aim to balance community vibrancy and safety with fiscal responsibility, aligning with governance and informed decision-making principles,” said Durkin, saying that if there was no proof that having an SRO present in schools, then the municipality shouldn’t pay for one.
In previous conversations, it was mentioned that the school resource officers in larger population centres weren’t effective in helping students in terms of being like a mentor or a counsellor.
Previously, members of a parents’ council for schools in the district, argued that it would be unwise for council to cut funds for an SRO, because that officer would be a resource for students.
Jonathan Jones, who represented the Parents Councils for both St Anthony’s Catholic School and Elgin Market Public School argued that while larger cities showed little effectiveness for school resource officers, those numbers didn’t apply locally.
At the time, Jones said, “We fully appreciate that research exists, which indicates a mixed picture concerning SROs in larger cities, such as Toronto or Hamilton. We believe this specific data does not apply here in Kincardine.”
Meanwhile, in Durkin and Roppel-Wahi’s presentation, the pair argued that since there was no research delving into the necessity of SROs locally, they did say that with a school resource officer in schools, they were also concerned that it could negatively affect the social climate at the schools.
Roppel-Wahi also said during the presentation that if the SRO who would work in the school was thought of as a counsellor, then the money should instead be invested in counselling for students with the $77,000 that would be spent on an SRO.
“We would recommend re-investing these funds into initiatives that support youth, such as culturally relevant counselling or additional after-school programs.”
Council has received the delegation as information.
