Amidst a national reckoning surrounding police budgets and law enforcement’s use of force, students took to the streets Friday to call on San Diego Unified School District to remove its police department from schools.
The protest was led by a group of Black female organizers who feel that San Diego schools would be better served by redirecting resources spent on police to school counselors and hiring more diverse teachers.
Mira Mesa High School senior Jazlyn Bass said police were making schools in San Diego less safe and helping to escalate situations.
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“They’re not for us, they’re not keeping us safe, they’re escalating issues when they don’t need to be escalated, causing confrontation, issues with brown students and Black students, especially women,” Bass told KPBS. “It’s unacceptable, period.”
The current budget for the district’s police department is $9 million dollars.
The protest, where participants were all wearing masks, swelled to more than 150 people and briefly stopped traffic on El Cajon Boulevard.
