By Carolyn Jones, July 24, 2020, Daily Democrat.
Faced with a soaring budget deficit and a growing fear of school shootings, Fontana Unified took a drastic step in the early 2010s: First, the board laid off the district’s entire staff of 69 counselors. And then it bought its police department 14 automatic rifles.
The San Bernardino County district was not unusual. In the wake of the Columbine school shooting, 9/11 and the 2008 recession, school districts throughout California were making similar choices to cut mental health services in favor of more police, according to a 2019 report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
In June, Oakland Unified voted to shutter its police department, saving $4 million per year, and other districts, such as Los Angeles Unified, voted to reduce funding for its police force by $25 million. San Francisco Unified and West Contra Costa Unified, among others, voted to sever their contracts with local police departments, saving millions.
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