Hamilton public school board to consider review of program that puts cops in schools

Amid calls for the Hamilton public school board to terminate its police partnerships, trustees will vote tonight on a motion to review its police liaison program.

Shawn McKillop, spokesperson for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), said the board's trustees will vote on a motion Monday evening for the board to review its current police liaison program. If passed, staff would report back to trustees on their review findings in October.

The motion notes: The community has called on the HWDSB to review its police liaison program."

On June 2, a group of organizers in Hamilton used the Toronto-based Black Lives Matter account on Twitter to share a series of videos with demands for systemic reforms of police, corrections and the education systems.

Specifically in regard to education, a petition circulated with the videos included four demands on behalf of a group called HWDSB Kids Need Help:

• Remove police from schools and fund a review of police violence in schools;

• Have the board stop calling police on students;

• Collect and release data on the race and gender of students who face disciplinary action;

• And implement a community-run alternative to disciplinary action with a focus on restorative justice.

HWDSB Kids Need Help doubled-down on spreading the word Sunday with a series of tweets showcasing the demands and offering a templated letter to send to trustees showing support for the reforms.

The Spectator has requested comment from HWDSB Kids Need Help.

In response to the BLM tweets last week, board chair Alex Johnstone said: The community brought forward many areas that will better serve Black students and families. So much of this work has already started in our Equity Action Plan and includes the development of an anti-Black racism procedure."

The demands come amid global anti-Black racism protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Just days ago, the Hamilton school board came under fire from Toronto and Hamilton police unions for an open letter it posted about racism and police brutality. The police unions called the board irresponsible" for linking the May 27 death of Toronto woman Regis Korchinski-Paquet - who fell 24 floors while officers were in her apartment - to anti-Black racism.

We are outraged by the acts of anti-Black racism and violence that led to the recent deaths of members of the Black community in the United States and Canada," reads the June 1 online letter from board chair Alex Johnstone and education director Manny Figueiredo.

The deaths of George Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet remind us again of the ongoing, systemic injustice, inequality and violence that target Black communities."

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit is currently investigating the incident. Much about what happened that day remains unknown.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com