‘A Terrible Decision’: Parents React As Rohnert Park Removes School Resource Officer

ROHNERT PARK-COTATI, CA — Amid growing concern from parents and educators, Rohnert Park Police Chief Tim Mattos confirmed that the city’s school resource officer will not return to campus for the remainder of the 2025–26 school year. He said the decision was driven by staffing shortages that require the officer to be reassigned to citywide patrol.

The officer will be reassigned to patrol beginning Jan. 23, Mattos said in a statement.

Mattos said the City of Rohnert Park does not have enough staff to cover citywide patrols.

The department is reassigning Officer Debbie Lamaison, who served as the school resource officer for the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District for three years, according to The Press Democrat.

"It is unfortunate that this action has to be taken, but it's due to circumstances beyond my and the City's control. As Chief, I have to prioritize the safety of the entire community, and this decision to temporarily pull the SRO was made to give the Public Safety Department time to become staffed at acceptable levels. I anticipate that the process to hire and train new staff will take the remainder of this school year," he said in the statement.

The decision hit a nerve among parents. Many have been writing and calling officials, and circulating increasingly urgent messages about the potential loss of a security officer.

The removal of a Santa Rosa Police Department student resource officer from Montgomery High School was one of the alleged failures noted in a lawsuit after the 2023 fatal in-classroom stabbing of 16-year-old Jayden Pienta.

One woman called it a "terrible decision" and urged parents on NextDoor to contact Rohnert Park officials and the police chief. "Having the SRO at our schools is the most important job ever to protect our children while attending school," she said.