To the editor:

I want to thank Lawrence school board member Kelly Jones for raising questions about the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The July 17 Journal-World editorial suggests that if a program has existed 18 years it doesn’t need to be questioned. I don’t understand that logic at all. I vote for people who are not afraid to ask hard questions. A top goal of our school district is closing the significant achievement gap for students of color. This requires considering everything that may be contributing. Board members and district staff should be commended for this work rather than called out for it in a misguided editorial.

The editorial goes on to suggest that Lawrence is immune from “national policing issues” and also that these issues are somehow separate from the SRO program. Kelly Jones’ questions are based on legitimate studies about the impact of SRO programs on minority students. LJW, what exactly are your statements based on?

In closing, I feel confident that many of your readers want our community to go beyond “feel(ing) sufficiently progressive” to acting with the integrity required to make progress that benefits all of our students.

Lori Johns,

Lawrence