>DES MOINES, Iowa — Students and staff at Des Moines Public Schools will no longer see school resource officers (SROs) in their buildings. >“Their role was really … first and foremost to build relationships with kids, especially students that maybe had a negative perception of police in the past. At the same time, they were there to help add a layer of safety and security to our building in the event that something really unfortunate happened,” Roosevelt High School Principal Kevin Biggs said. >Biggs said Des Moines Public Schools has partnered with the Des Moines Police Department for more than ten years. Each high school and some middle schools in the district would have at least one SRO. >“Any time there is a cop standing right there, you’ve got the deterrent of that, and you’ve also got the benefit of having an almost immediate response,” Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said. >But after the events and protests of last summer, Des Moines Public Schools began holding anti-racism sessions with the community. >“We learned very quickly that there is an emotional reaction for many of our students, primarily our students of color, when they see an officer in uniform. Some of us who are white who have not had a lot of negative experience with police don’t have that same reaction. So it’s very important for many of the leaders who are white to listen to voices of color and at least attempt to really understand why a negative emotion is occurring and take action to support that,” Biggs said. >On Tuesday, the Des Moines School Board signaled support for a plan to replace SROs with additional campus monitors and new positions of safety and restoration coordinators. >“It’s somebody that’ll be trained on how to de-escalate, maybe how to disarm if there’s a weapon on a student. But also it has a social worker component to it, connecting students and their family to community resources. We’ll make home visits,” Biggs said. >Biggs understands some people might be nervous about the loss of law enforcement in the building. >“I don’t think people can disregard that feeling. That is that is a legitimate concern,” Biggs said. >But he said these safety and restoration coordinators are trained to protect students and staff while also not contributing to a school-to-prison pipeline. >“Less students will be arrested in our building. We are going to then sit down with those students and teach them skills and love them and be patient with them and work through their life because their behavior is a communication. You’re communicating something to us that we need to find that root cause of so we can apply the appropriate support,” Biggs said. >Des Moines Public Schools said new staff hiring will begin this spring and professional development will happen over the summer.