August 1, 2023
The Honorable Maria Hernandez
Presiding Judge of the Superior Court
Orange County Grand Jury
700 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701
RE: City of Fullerton Response to the 2022-2023 Orange County Grand Jury Report: “School Shootings: How Prepared are OC Public Schools?” Dear Presiding Judge Hernandez:
The Fullerton City Council and City Manager’s Office have reviewed the June 14, 2023 Orange County Grand Jury report “School Shootings: How Prepared are OC Public Schools?” We thank the Grand Jury for its interest and consideration of the important matters related to school safety. As required by California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05, the City of Fullerton is responding to the findings and recommendations included in the report.
FINDINGS
F1. Law enforcement, first responders, and other stakeholders have demonstrated a strong interest in working cooperatively with Orange County public schools to mitigate the risk of an active shooter incident; establishment of MOU’s between law enforcement and school districts would strengthen this cooperation.
Response: The City of Fullerton agrees with this finding.
Currently, the City of Fullerton has an MOU with the Fullerton Joint Union High School District (FJUHSD). The City of Fullerton and FJUHSD has had a MOU dating back to 2015 that provides 3 School Resource Officers (SRO) for 4 schools. A Memorandum of Understanding is currently being reviewed and considered for the Fullerton School District which encompasses Elementary and Junior High Schools. This contract would be for the City of Fullerton to provide a Police Liaison Officer to service 15 Elementary Schools and 5 Intermediate Schools.
F8. School Resources Officers (SROs) are a valuable asset for school safety, yet many cities/districts do not allocate sufficient funds to hire needed officers.
Response: The City of Fullerton disagrees partially with this finding.
The MOU with FJUHSD provides for an SRO at Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton Union High School, Troy High School and La Vista High School (La Vista HS is serviced by the Troy High School SRO). The funding of the SROs is shared jointly between the City of Fullerton and FJUHSD. Per the MOU, FJUHSD pays for a 66% share of the cost for the SROs while the City of Fullerton pays one-third of the officer’s salaries. In addition to the two-thirds share of salaries, FJUHSD also pays for 1 day of overtime a week per SRO to ensure that officers are on campus 5 days a week. In addition to being on campus, the SROs provide services at sporting events, dances, back to school nights, school board meetings, expulsion hearings and other requests from school administration.
Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact Eric Levitt, City Manager, at (714) 738-6310 or via email at HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]" [email protected].
Respectfully,
Fred Jung
Mayor
Cc: Orange County Grand Jury
700 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701
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Mayor, Fred Jung
Mayor Pro Tem, Bruce Whitaker
Councilmember, Shana Charles
Councilmember, Nick Dunlap
Councilmember, Ahmad Zahra
City Council Office
303 West Commonwealth Avenue, Fullerton, California 92832-1775 (714) 738-6311 [email protected] www.cityoffullerton.com