Question of the week: Do you support hiring a second school resource officer for Barrington Public Schools, and what was your reaction to the Town Council's recent decision to not sign the MOU for the second SRO?

Sarah Whiting — Democrat: 

I agree with the decision not to hire a second SRO now. Keeping kids safe involves more than security. My work focuses on helping organizations and systems get better results for the people they serve, including students. I’ve worked in schools and communities across the country. I’ve seen that strong approaches consider relationships, student support, climate, mental health, learning, and security. We should invest where we can have the greatest impact on student safety and well-being.

Adam Stearnbourne — Democrat: 

No, and I support the Council's decision. This is fundamentally a question about student safety, which I take seriously. As a criminologist of over twenty years, I know the research literature well. The evidence that SROs meaningfully improve safety is, at best, mixed, while the evidence that they increase suspensions and arrests for minor infractions is consistent. I would rather invest in counselors, mental health staffing, and trained threat assessment teams.