Portland, school officials talk solutions on school violence

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero met with Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Chuck Lovell, the Multnomah County Sheriff and other local leaders to look for a solution to the gun violence, following several recent shootings near campuses.

The point of the meeting was for leaders to brainstorm ideas to keep kids safe from gun violence.

Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero said gun violence has reached their schools’ doorsteps.

In that meeting, Mayor Ted Wheeler talked about the Safer Summer PDX Program, which is a city program aimed at reducing shootings over the summer. Wheeler also brought up recruiting police amid a historic shortage of police, saying they hired 71 officers last year.

School resource officers were removed from Portland Public Schools in the summer of 2020.

"When I think of school community safety, I think about a whole continuum of prevention, intervention, support, and of course, we have to maintain a collaborative working relationship with law enforcement," said Guerrero. "There hasn’t been a decision on that point specifically at this point."

Leaders talked about a “credible intervener program” in school and “upstream prevention” like meeting young people and their families to help give them stable environments.