Officer Would Benefit School

Would hiring a police officer to visit its four high school campuses be a good way for the Conejo Valley Unified School District to spend $40,000 per year?

We believe it would--and concern about violence on campus is the least of our reasons.

District officials repeatedly have declined an offer from Thousand Oaks Police Cmdr. Kathryn Kemp for a high school campus resource officer. The officer would rotate among Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Westlake and Conejo Valley high schools, speaking to classes and holding regular office hours so students could talk to the officer privately.

A federal grant could have provided $120,000 over three years for a campus officer, if the city of Thousand Oaks and the school district were willing to contribute matching funds. But school district officials said no.

“That’s dollars not going to the classrooms and kids,” Richard Simpson, assistant superintendent of instructional services, told The Times. “I don’t think part of our K-12 mission is to hire a police officer.”

We respectfully disagree. In an era when youth culture nurtures a suspicious, even hostile attitude toward police, regular contact with a familiar face in uniform would foster a healthier view of authority.

Even more important, all kids--especially those growing up in single-parent households--need as much interaction as possible with a variety of adult role models. For teachers, counselors, coaches and school administrators, this function of quietly demonstrating how adults think, talk and act is as important as anything in their lesson plan. Regular campus visits from a police officer would add one more example of what it means to be an adult, one more person to offer feedback on individual students’ behavior and situations.

The Conejo school district sees the value of police presence at its elementary and intermediate schools, where DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officers are a familiar part of the campus community. We believe the need for a resource officer at the high schools is even stronger.

Other districts in Ventura County recognize this. Adolfo Camarillo High School in Camarillo has had an officer for four years, paid by the Oxnard Union High School District and the Sheriff’s Department. The Moorpark Unified School District is expected to receive a high school campus resource officer next month.

We believe resource officers make an important contribution to students’ education, even if the result isn’t directly measurable on tests. The kids, their parents and the entire community benefit.

We encourage the Conejo Valley Unified School District to factor these intangible rewards into its decision-making formula and to consider applying for the grant next year.