Schools
Supt. Witherspoon Defends 'Safe School Zone' At ETHS
"I can't begin to tell you how much that one tool would go to begin to defuse things and keep our children safe," Witherspoon told city council members this week.
Evanston Township High School District 202 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon told members of the city council that a "safe school zone" at the high school would go a long way toward improving student safety.
Under Illinois law, a safe school zone creates an area where police officers can arrest people for trespassing who have been suspended or expelled from school or who have been personally notified they cannot enter the safe school zone. Members of the District 202 school board have been talking about establishing a safe school zone for weeks, and passed a resolution to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the city unanimously in June. The next step is for the city council to approve the intergovernmental agreement, which would allow Evanston police officers to enforce the boundaries.
On Monday, city council members voted to hold introduction of the enabling ordinance for another meeting, in order to work out the language of the ordinance and to communicate better with neighbors.
Read more: Proposed Safe School Zone Pits ETHS Officials Against School Neighbors
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