Police presence in the D.C. area’s two largest school systems likely will be cut in half next fall, doubling the challenge of curbing nefarious activities on and off campus.
In Fairfax County, in-school officers would be cut to 26 from a current staff of 52, eliminating officers in the middle schools but saving the county about $2 million.
“There are some drawbacks,” said Fairfax police spokesman Bud Walker. “Middle school is typically the target for gang recruitment, and our officers have been able not only to prevent problems but to provide some excellent intelligence on gang activity.”
In Montgomery County, 15 officers and three supervisors will perform the task of 28 officers and six supervisors this year — also for savings of about $2 million.
Both counties face financial shortfalls in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but fights and gang activity remain a daily occurrence at many area schools.
Silver Spring’s Francis Scott Key Middle School recorded 70 out-of-school suspensions for fighting in 2008-09. Neelsville Middle, in Germantown, led the district with 72.
County police departments started assigning officers to school districts in the aftermath of the Columbine, Colo., shooting in 1999 and in response to enhanced security following Sept. 11. Their role has expanded in the past decade to include awareness of problems outside school — such as parental abuse or gang affiliation — as well as on-campus issues.
Laurie Halvorson, chairwoman of the health and safety committee for the Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher Associations, called the cuts a “huge concern.”
“Our schools are safe because we have the officers,” she said.
Halvorson pointed to an incident in April 2009 at Springbrook High School in which the school police officer played what may have been a lifesaving role.
Two students planned a violent attack on the schools’ then-principal, Michael Durso, and a counselor. But at the last minute, one of them confessed.
“I don’t think [the student] would’ve gone to an officer he didn’t know, and I don’t think any police officer could’ve done the same thing,” Durso said. “He trusted the officer — and that’s huge.”
Police staffing will remain steady in Arlington, Alexandria and Prince George’s schools, according to county officials.
In D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty will release his fiscal 2011 budget in early April. About 100 D.C. officers currently staff the city’s public and charter schools.
