Starting in January 2026, there will no longer be school resource officers (SROs) on Natomas Unified School District campuses and no more Sacramento police officers on Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT).

The Sacramento Police Department says it’s a move the department is making as it faces a staffing shortage, with 89 vacancies as of Oct. 17. 

“The extra eyes [are] good to keep the eyes on the kids,” said Baythong Whittlesey, who is a parent at Natomas Unified. 

The change means 14 officers will soon be patrolling the streets. 

The Sacramento Police Department is putting its three SROs and a sergeant at Natomas Unified and 12 positions at SacRT back on patrol and other assignments.

“The city has a tough problem to fix, right?” said Natalie McGee, who is a Natomas Unified parent. 

McGee thinks pulling school SROs will have a bigger impact than just safety at the schools. 

“All those interactions and lenses are important to help shape and frame hopefully positive engagement with officers,” McGee said. 

Natomas Unified said it has a plan and anticipates a smooth transition. The district is actively recruiting for a new high-level school safety position. This role will operate similarly to SROs. The goal is to have one of these staff members on every high school campus and respond to other schools within the district as needed. 

The district is also looking to add more campus safety specialists to have more adult eyes on every campus. 

SacRT plans to continue to use the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department to help staff its safety team that’s made up of deputies, security guards and transit ambassadors. 

It will also continue to use its 24/7 Security Operations Center out of the Sacramento Police Department’s Real Time Information Center. 

“I just know overall, presence is needed,” said McGee. 

The police department said it is committed to keeping students and staff safe, working in partnership with the school district, responding when needed. 

“Because of staffing challenges, we will be reassigning our School Resource Officers back to patrol in January to make sure we can meet emergency response needs citywide,” said a Sac PD spokesperson.Â