W E D N E S D A Y
October 26, 2022 Vol. 43, No. 13
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JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
Fenwick girls net state championship Sports, page 31
School security pact in the works Agreement involves districts 200, 97 and village government By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter
The intersection of school safety and equity concerns around policing are front and center as public school districts in Oak Park and the village’s police force work toward an intergovernmental agreement that would codify protocols and interactions between the three agencies. The Village of Oak Park is in discussions with Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 to do just that. Through an intergovernmental agreement, the three entities plan to implement a school security program that would not see the return of school resource officers within the schools but would involve police interacting with students under certain circumstances. To do so without causing undue harm and stress to Black and Brown students, who often feel wary in the presence of police, the three taxing bodies have committed to using a racial equity lens in development of the IGA. The agreement is a two-fold initiative to ensure safety within the two districts’ schools while “explicitly disrupting the school to prison pipeline,” according to a Sept. 30 memo from Village Manager Kevin Jackson, D97 Superintendent Ushma Shah and D200 Superintendent Greg Johnson to the two school boards and the village board. It is meant to establish clear channels of communication between schools and law enforcement.
Weeknight Warriors Basketball diehards go head to head each Tuesday at River Forest Recreation Center STORY BY STACEY SHERIDAN, PAGE 6 ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
See SCHOOL SECURITY on page 15
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