Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa could have avoided tragedy Wednesday when police 16-year-old student arrested for having loaded handgun on campus. It was the second such incident at a Santa Rosa high school in a week. A new school board and first-year superintendent have their work cut out for them to ensure not only campuses are safe, but also that parents and students feel safe. They can start by reassigning school resource officers to campus.

Having cops on campus was the norm for years in Santa Rosa, although the practice had detractors. Some parents and advocates didn’t like the idea of ​​children under surveillance. There was also a simmering debate over whether schools or local governments should pay for the officers.

Then, in 2020, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd and a racial reckoning took place across the country. The Santa Rosa school board voted unanimously to end the “Cops on Campus” program.

Last year student stabbed and killed another at Montgomery High School. In August, a student stabbed classmate in gang-related knife attack at Elsie Allen High School.

A week ago, 16-year-old student arrested in Elsie Allen for bringing a loaded gun and ammunition to school. And now another one in Montgomery.

That’s four weapons-related incidents in a year and a half.

Almost a year ago, after hearing from students and parents, school board approved pilot program to bring police officers back to campusbut without a calendar. This is not a case where a pilot program is really necessary. A program was in place only a few years ago. Revive it with some changes and regular reviews on how the program could be improved. Schools are not reinventing the wheel here.

It’s no wonder students feel unsafe when their classmates come in with guns. Indeed, it is possible that the two armed men brought them as a reckless means of protecting themselves. Unfortunately, the police provide few details, which does little to allay the concerns of students, parents and school staff.

Critics will say that cops on campus are unnecessary. Just look at the two gun incidents. School officials intervened and notified the police. That’s true, but things could easily have gone differently. Having an officer on site does not guarantee that every incident will be avoided, but a trained public safety professional specifically attentive to issues increases the chances more than relying on teachers and staff focused on education.

When police succeed on campus, they catch wind of problems before they escalate. Their interactions with students can ease tensions and improve how young people view law enforcement, and vice versa. An effective program can foster an environment where students know someone is looking out for their safety.

Three directors declined to seek re-election to the seven-member board this year. That means new faces will replace some of the school resource officers’ most vocal critics. There is no better opportunity to return to school resource officers, not as part of a pilot program but as part of an intentional plan to ensure school safety.

Some details need to be worked out, including who foots the bill and how to train officers not to criminalize student behavior or racially profile them. But recent incidents show that now is not the time to delay these conversations and start taking action.

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