Delayed vote
The Charlottesville School Board voted on Thursday, May 30, to delay a decision on reinstating School Resource Officers in city schools until 2025. Now referred to as “Youth Resource Officers,” SROs (YROs) have not served in Charlottesville schools since they were replaced with Care and Safety Assistants in 2020.
Several teachers, students, parents, and community members appeared at the Charlottesville School Board meeting in opposition to these cops returning to schools, including members of the Charlottesville Education Association, the union representing the faculty and staff of Charlottesville City Schools. It was the Association’s Representative Assembly that recently voted unanimously to send a resolution opposing the return of YROs to the school board.
Shannon Gillikin, president of CEA, read the resolution at the meeting. “[The resolution] opposes the employment of police officers in [Charlottesville] schools,” arguing that their presence would not promote safety, instead citing “restorative justice and community outreach programs” as alternative ways to use the money that would be spent on employing YROs.
Other speakers at the meeting advocated for similar causes. Christine Esposito, a gifted program specialist at Walker Upper Elementary School, questioned how the school board has the funds to employ officers while so many staff positions go unfunded. According to the Charlottesville Police Department, the addition of YROs would cost nearly $600,000 for the first year. Esposito expressed that this is not a conversation to be had “until we can fund our desperately needed instructional positions.”
Many pleaded for transparency from the school board in making this decision, given the rigorous process to remove YROs in the first place.
About face
Thanks to a petition signed by more than 1,000 community members, Piedmont Community College nursing student Mustafa Abdelhamid will continue his studies at UVA Medical Center. The nursing student’s externship was rescinded following an arrest at the UVA encampment earlier this month, but on Wednesday, May 29, Police Chief Tim Longo modified his No Trespassing Order (NTO) to allow Abdelhamid back on Grounds.
The decision was made after the University was met with action by community organizers.
The UVA Chapter of the American Association of University Professors issued a petition following the University’s denial to reconsider their decision to ban Mustafa from University property.
The petition describes the decision as “prejudicial to his minority status” and raises concern for the supposed infringement on the student’s rights.
It’s a start
A $9 million settlement between the University of Virginia and the families of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry—the three students who were killed in a shooting on Grounds on November 13, 2022—was approved on Friday, May 31, by a judge in Albemarle County Circuit Court. The settlement grants $2 million to each of the families and $3 million between Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan, two students who were injured in the shooting.
Saying goodbye
Beloved local restaurateur Mel Walker passed away on Tuesday, May 28. His eponymous West Main Street restaurant was one of the oldest Black-owned businesses in the city, having opened in 1984. Walker was a fixture in the community, born in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood and earning his restaurant chops in a variety of local kitchens. His absence leaves the future of Mel’s Cafe hanging in the balance. Visit gofundme.com/f/help-keep-mels-cafe-open to donate to the family’s fundraiser.
Standing O
The second round of grants for the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2024 fiscal year included a $20,000 award to Live Arts, the first for the local theater in its 33-year history. According to a press release, the grant will “advance the theater’s multi-year effort to diversify the stories on its stage” by supporting its third annual WATERWORKS festival.
In total, 20 grants were awarded to organizations in Virginia, four of which were in Charlottesville.