WAUWATOSA- Amid a concern in the rise of violent incidents, mainly at after school activities, the Wauwatosa School Board is reaffirming its commitment to its school resource officers.
The board Tuesday night codified its relationship with SRO’s and the Wauwatosa Police Department at large.
“SRO’s are here to stay in Wauwatosa,” Wauwatosa Police Chief James MacGillis told WTMJ’s Steve Scaffidi Wednesday. “Even though with our staffing concerns it’s an important role to have engaging with use, engaging with staff & making it a conducive learning environment.” You can listen to MacGillis’ full interview with Scaffidi here.
A group of students last Friday gathered on the sidewalk outside Wauwatosa West to protest the violence. The gathering formed after a fight broke out at Hart Park following the Wauwatosa East football game. The fight led to the arrests of four people & charges of disorderly conduct to be filed.
As a result of the fights, the district is implementing a handful of procedural changes at football games. Among those changes will be having school resource officers on site, spectators will be allowed only 1 bag and fans must exit the stadium within fifteen minutes of the game ending.
In a letter to parents, West superintendent Corey Golla addressed the changes saying in part, “given the intensity and frequency of recent incidents, we will immediately implement the most significant penalties available to us in the framework for students that choose to engage in fights.”
