LCSO holds community meeting to discuss SROs in elementary schools

By Valerie Cury

On Feb. 25 at John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary in Leesburg, parents, students, and community members gathered to discuss the proposed expansion of School Resource Officers into elementary schools. The program already places SROs in middle and high schools, and the discussion highlighted both the promise of increased school safety and concerns from residents about civil rights, student interactions, and trust in law enforcement.

Supervisors Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg, Julie Briskman (D-Algonkian), School Board Chair April Chandler (Algonkian), Vice Chair Anne Donohue (At-Large), Deana Griffiths (Ashburn), and Amy Riccardi (Sterling) attended the meeting.

Sheriff Michael Chapman opened by emphasizing the role of SROs in school safety and community protection. He noted that the expansion into elementary schools is not about disciplinary enforcement, but about providing trained law enforcement personnel as part of a broader school security system. 

Chapman stressed that SROs receive extensive training, including crisis intervention, de-escalation, and working with students with disabilities, and highlighted the ongoing collaboration with Loudoun County Public Schools to ensure the program complements the schools’ behavioral and mental health supports.

“School safety is a system,” Chapman said. “It’s not just about one component; it’s about counselors, SROs, communication, and preparation. We are not here to replace counselors, and we are not here to handle discipline. We are here to respond in a crisis and mitigate harm when every second counts.”

Chapman outlined the phased plan to place School Resource Officers in all Loudoun County elementary schools over a four-year period. He noted that each school would have a dedicated officer, ensuring familiarity and consistency for students and staff. The program is estimated at $7 million in the first year, with total costs expected to remain under $20 million when fully implemented. 

The meeting quickly turned emotional as parents shared personal stories. One parent recounted decades of trauma from abuse by a trusted member of his community, explaining how the school system he attended offered no protection.

He contrasted his experience with his grandchildren’s schooling today, praising LCPS safety measures and training, and expressed support for adding SROs to elementary schools. “I had no voice. I had only terror. I’ve been dealing with this for 64 years,” he said. “I want SROs in my elementary schools because I do not want my grandchildren to suffer what I endured.”

School Board Vice Chair Anne Donohue raised questions about potential disparate impacts on students of color, citing national studies showing that SRO programs can unintentionally contribute to inequities if not implemented carefully. 

Chapman and his team emphasized that SROs do not participate in school disciplinary actions or policy enforcement, and that the program is structured to support, not penalize, students.

A parent asked about SRO involvement at the secondary level, prompting a detailed response on de-escalation. “Since we already have SROs at middle and high schools, what level of involvement have they actually had in helping students de-escalate?” the parent asked.

Lt. Col. Christopher Sawyer, who oversees the program, explained that while behavioral intervention teams are the first line for students in crisis, SROs provide critical support when a situation escalates to immediate safety concerns. 

He described the Loudoun County Crisis Intervention Team program’s success, noting over the years, taser deployments to take individuals into custody dropped from 44 incidents to just a few per year, demonstrating the effectiveness of trained law enforcement in managing crises safely. He emphasized the importance of consistency, as SROs build trust with students over time, which is particularly valuable for those with special needs.

A congressional candidate praised SROs as a deterrent and expressed support for federal funding to enhance school safety. 

Other parents expressed skepticism, citing past incidents and potential conflicts of interest related to immigration enforcement programs. 

Chapman and Sawyer clarified that SROs do not engage in civil immigration enforcement and focus solely on criminal law matters, keeping their roles separate from Adult Detention Center deputies or any ICE-related detainers.

The proceedings included repeated interruptions from a group of residents, while other attendees adhered to procedural guidelines. The moderator repeatedly urged decorum; but the requests did little to quell the disruptions.

The meeting concluded with a perspective from a student, Joaquim Zudiaga, who had to speak over the loud interruptions to make his point. “My friends and I have always felt safe with SROs,” Zudiaga said. “This is not a partisan issue—it’s about safety, and safety is a right for everyone.  

“SROs have always done their job quickly and effectively, and we should extend that protection to elementary schools as well.” Zudiaga emphasized that both SROs and counselors play complementary roles in keeping students safe, and that no child should feel vulnerable in their own school.

When asked what the protocol is in the event of an emergency for schools that do not have school resource officers, Sawyer said the district maintains “a very robust notification system.”

However, he noted that in the absence of an on-site SRO, response times depend on patrol availability and geography. “If there is not an SRO at the school, the response will come from the closest patrol cars or other SROs,” Sawyer said. If there is a shooter at a school, the department is not going to wait for an SRO to arrive. “The response will come from the nearest units.”

Response times can vary, particularly for schools in more remote areas, he said. “Our preference, as we look at it and see this gap, would be to have an SRO on site at every LCPS property during the day,” Sawyer said. 

At the end of the meeting, Chapman invited attendees to stay and ask questions. “We’re always looking to strive to be the best that we can be for the community that we serve,” he said.