Parkland, WA rallies to celebrate a canceled school contract with the county sheriff

Parkland, WA – On Tuesday, August 19, about 50 community members, labor and immigrant rights activists rallied outside of the Franklin Pierce School District Building to celebrate the school board’s decision to cancel their contract with the Pierce County Sheriff’s office.

The decision will reallocate $341,920 in district funds that had previously gone toward a contract with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Keith Swank has previously stated that he intends to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though county and state policies limit such collaboration.

The organizations that called the rally – the Pierce County Immigration Alliance (PCIA) and Franklin Pierce Association’s Radical Caucus: Fight Injustice and Reimagine Education (FPEA FIRE) – had originally called the it before the school board’s decision. After learning on August 14 from school district officials that the contract had been canceled, the rally changed to a more celebratory tone.

“It took people from all different backgrounds, from all over Washington, to come together and say ‘hey, we don’t want this in the school district,’” Matthew Caras, substitute teacher, special education specialist, and member of PCIA stated, “I’m really proud of all the collective work we put in together.”

As the rally began in front of the district building the protesters chanted “¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!” The rally served both as a celebration of the school board’s decision and as a chance for community members to address the board during public comment. Speakers described the contract cancellation as a first step toward enforcing district policies and investing in real student safety.

“The district has not publicly committed to going away from student resource officers (SROs). What they’ve done is publicly committed to saying we don’t have enough money right no,.” stated TJay Johnson, CTE educator at Keithley Middle School. “And so instead, what we want to do is encourage them to invest in the right way.”

Since canceling the contract, the school district has stated that they have made the decision based on the 2025–2026 school year budget. Educators, many of whom have been fighting for five years to cancel this contract, say otherwise.

Kevin Shintaku, music teacher and vice president of FPEA stated, “This only happened because of the grassroots organizing. People were out knocking doors, tabling in the community, and getting petition signatures. We tried for years to get SROs out, but it was the grassroots pressure that pushed things over the edge.”

During their joint statement to the school board during public comment members of PCIA and FPEA FIRE shared about the impact of this contract on immigrant families, the research about the ineffectiveness of SROs, and the lived experience of students and educators.

“I’ve known students that have been publicly embarrassed and shamed because the SROs walked them out of class in the middle of other students. They’ve been tackled on campus,” Johnson stated.

“When we went out into the community to do outreach we stood outside of grocery stores and knocked on doors. We spoke to many families and parents that were afraid to come here and speak tonight,” said Catelynn Henion, a member of PCIA, “They wanted the contract canceled and ICE collaborators out of our schools but didn’t feel safe to come out in public to speak in support. This statement serves to echo their demands and as a reminder of the many folks who are missing in this room that deserve to have their voices heard.”

During the school board meeting, it was announced that while the SRO contract had been canceled, but they will continue to contract with the sheriff’s office on a per event basis including extracurricular activities such as sporting events.

“We know that the fight is not over. By creating this loophole, the district showed us that they are willing to continue to fund a racist sheriff that has criminalized students and opened up the doors to collaboration with ICE,” said Talison Crosby of PCIA and Teamsters Local 174 member.

One thing is clear: the community and educators will continue to fight against the sheriff and demand reinvestment into the students and staff.

#ParklandWA #WA #InJusticeSystem #School

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/parkland-wa-rallies-to-celebrate-a-canceled-school-contract-with-the-county?pk_campaign=rss-feed