Bronson: ‘I Didn’t Defund SROs except That I Did Defund SROs and Now I Want SROs Funded
It's difficult to keep pace with the ever-changing narratives put out by Bronson sycophant Jamie Allard and Anchorage's sometimes mayor, but unsurprisingly here we are again, having to correct and clarify his confusing record.
Last year, Bronson, who was likely influenced by Amy Demboski, defunded the School Resource Officer (SRO) program when he proposed cutting its budget. The Anchorage Assembly later restored funding to the program.
Yesterday, Eagle River Assemblyperson Jamie Allard, on her personal, not personal Facebook page, alleged based on a rumor (anonymous sources) that some members of the Anchorage School Board were going to vote to defund the SRO program and claimed collusion was occurring between the Board and members of the Assembly. Allard made certain to get her alarmist messaging out ahead of last night's meeting.
Allard's bold play drew misguided opinions and speculation from her right-wing ilk (that included one QAnon supporter), who alleged that the Assembly wanted to defund the SRO program when that was exactly the opposite of what happened.
As our story goes, Mayor Bronson attended last night's school board meeting where he testified, perhaps forgetful of his own previous actions on the matter, about the importance of funding the program.
"History will not treat well those people that defund the program that literally saves lives in our schools."
It's a weird statement Bronson is making, right? I mean, the Anchorage Assembly overrode his vetoes last year and funded the program he had cut. If the Anchorage School District hadn't included the SRO program in the budget last night, it wouldn't have had a funding source for a portion of the Muni fiscal year.
What Bronson doesn't want his right-wing supporters to know is that the Board and the Assembly were willing to work together to get the program funded after Bronson himself defunded it and that the school board funded it outright. That's a fact.
Personally, I think officials should look carefully at the SRO program itself in the future — and consider adding more actual school staff to the program in the form of counselors and mental health specialists instead of relying on the act of criminalizing youth behavior and contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Anyway, you can watch the performance Mayor Bronson gave at last night's meeting below.
