ma20%0 D219 Niles Township High Schools Mall -PUBLIC COMMENT - BOARD MEETING 7114/2020 @D219 #20 lim Szezepaniak PUBLIC COMMENT - BOARD MEETING 7/14/2020 1 message ONikolopoulcs “Tue, Jul 14,2020 at $25 PM ‘To: Jim Szozepaniak Cc: D Nikolopoulos To the District 219 School Board: In my June 9" email, | extended an offer to the D219 Board and any of its members to contact me if they would like to discuss the issue of Skokie Police Officers as School Resource Officers (SRO), social media posts made by Board Members Jill Manrique and Rebecca Abraham and/or current events as they relate to D219. To my disappointment, not a single Board Member contacted me. Instead, School Board Member Jill Manrique continues to utilize social media to make her feelings known about SRO's in District 219, the Village of Skokie overall and police unions. Her social media posts state in part “Skokie will remain a racist community” and that “police unions like the FOP, whose collective bargaining agreements with municipalities help shield officers from consequences for misconduct.” Both statements, taken directly from Manrique’s Twitter page, are factually inaccurate and inflammatory. We, along with the residents in the D219 school district, should expect factual content from our elected School Board Members, not rhetoric! Here are some facts for Ms. Manrique and the D219 School Board: 1. Residents of Skokie speak approximately ninety different languages. 2. According to the US Census Bureau, as of July, 2019, Skokie's racial breakdown includes 27% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 8% African American and 5% Two or More Races. That much diversity in a community the size of Skokie can hardly be characterized as "racist." Some facts about police unions including the Skokie Fraternal Order of Police: 1. Collective bargaining is conducted pursuant to the Illinois Labor Relations Act and adhered to by both the Village of Skokie and the Skokie FOP. 2. The assertion that collective bargaining agreements help shield Officers from consequences couldn't be further from the truth. One need only review the Village of Skokie/Fraternal Order of Police Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement contains an entire Article devoted to Discipline and Discharge of a Police Officer. Collective bargaining agreements don't shield Officers from discipline, to the contrary, they lay out the guidelines for imposing discipline if Officers violate the Police Department's Rules and Regulations. ups google com/maut"ik-65xeaabeview=pdisearsalidpennshidtread (5A |672252865979970961%7CmsgRIA6T22S286537997096 sim. 1/2anno 1219 Niles Township High Schools Mall - PUBLIC COMMENT - BOARD MEETING 7/34/2000 As I’ve stated before, the men and women of the Skokie Fraternal Order of Police hold themselves and each other to the highest moral and ethical standards. We are not, nor do we claim to be above the law and we are certainly not below it! | encourage Ms. Manrique to get her facts straight before taking to social media. In her June 9" Board Member comments, Ms. Rebecca Abraham asked for an apology from me for certain truthful statements | made. | stand by my statements and will not be apologizing for them. For the record, if the majority of the District 219 School Board sees no value in the SRO positions and believes that having Skokie Police Officers at Niles West and Niles North facilitate a “schoo! to prison pipeline”, then the Board has the authority to terminate its agreement with the Village. Should the School Board decide that they believe a Skokie Police Officer is no longer needed in either school, there should be no reason for the Police to respond to any D219 facility for any reason. The school staff could be trained to handle any and all situations. However, | strongly suggest you look at the history of school violence outside of D219 and the incidents that have taken place within D219 to see why most SRO's have been placed in schools. It's time to have the D219 Board vote whether to keep the SRO program or not. Let's settle this issue so that the D219 taxpayers; which includes several current and retired Police Officers know where their elected School Board stands. Damon Nikolopoulos Vice President, Skokie Fraternal Order of Police 7300 Niles Center Road Skokie, Illinois 60077 pedis google com mail Ak652acwcubddview —ptdsearchmall&penthidethrend-[%:3A 1672232865379970061%7C msg (%3A167223286537997096 asin 2