When Sacramento Police Department pulled their school resource officers from Natomas Unified School District, the district did not wait around. It is shifting on-campus security to its own roster of school safety officers after the city reassigned the three officers who had been stationed on Natomas campuses. District leaders say the new approach will come with more campus safety specialists and a new high-level safety position at each high school, as reported by ABC10.
District hires, new roles and recruitment
According to ABC10, Natomas has started hiring school safety officers to take over many of the duties that Sacramento Police SROs once handled. The basic blueprint was laid out in October and later formalized with a job description and a memorandum of understanding for the School Safety Officer role. Natomas Unified School District says officers will be assigned to each high school, and the number of Campus Safety Specialists will grow as recruitment continues.
Police pullback tied to staffing shortages
The Sacramento Police Department told local outlets it is moving the three SROs and a sergeant back to patrol in January because of staffing shortages, freeing up officers for citywide patrol duties, KCRA reported. The trend is not limited to Sacramento. Statewide reporting has pointed to shrinking sworn ranks in recent years; the Los Angeles Times cited a Peace Officers Research Association of California analysis that describes police staffing at decades-long lows.
Parents split on losing on-site officers
Parents in Natomas have been split on the shakeup. Some told reporters they value daily SRO interactions that help build familiarity with students. Others are more comfortable with a district-run model connected to expanded mental health supports, according to reporting by CBS13. District leaders have said publicly they expect the handoff to be smooth and that patrol officers will still respond to emergencies when needed.
Board set the framework in December
The framework for the new system was nailed down in December. The school board approved the School Safety Officer job description and a Memorandum of Understanding with CSEA at its December meeting, according to Natomas Unified School District, which describes the role as focused on complex safety, intervention and prevention duties. The district’s online update also notes that existing safety systems, including its Safety and Safe Schools department and an anonymous reporting tool, will stay in place while hiring and training move forward.
District officials told local reporters they expect new staff to be in place as campuses reopen and that coordination with Sacramento Police will continue for backup and emergency response. Families in Natomas say they will be watching closely to see whether the district’s new hires can match the campus familiarity and response times that SROs provided.
