While other councilmembers got specific in their questioning of city officials, Queens Democrat John Liu was outspoken about his general distaste for the current security arrangement. "I have grave reservations with what we're doing with the police department to our schools," said Liu, calling for a comprehensive reevaluation of the city's school safety approach. "The overall mindset and management of the police 'securing a school' is faulty."
There is also debate over how comfortable students, parents, and teachers feel with the city's current school safety policy. Prior to the signing of the 1998 MOU, parents and former schools Chancellor Ramon C. Cortines opposed handing over control of school safety to the NYPD for a variety of reasons, from creating an unnecessarily martial atmosphere to citing racial tensions between minority youth and the largely white police force.
Some parents have felt marginalized on the matter of school safety, and have observed recent incidents between students and safety agents with rising concern. David Bloomfield, president of the Citywide Council on High Schools, claimed that school safety personnel "are trained to view our kids and even parents as the enemy…any infraction is subject to overwhelming force and punishment."
Bloomfield's final statement echoed the recommendations of the students, school staff, and children's advocates who had preceded him throughout the day: "Balance the need for school order with the need for respect."
