School police union head says comments got him banned from District police room

The School District of Philadelphia seems to have a goal of getting itself in as many different headlines as possible. The latest brings the story of what the school police union head says is unfair labor practice.

Michael Lodise, president of the school police officers union, tells the Inquirer he was banned from the District’s central police control room after commenting to the paper about unreported incidents of violence.

During the paper’s Assault on Learning series, Lodise said his officers were being told by the district not to report violence. He says it’s those comments that got him banned from the room.

School District spokeswoman Shana Kemp says the control room is only for commanders and school police staff, which Lodise is not. District lawyer Andrew Rosen wrote in an email to union lawyer Ralph Teti that the decision to ban Lodise from the room is not a retaliation to his comments.

Its up to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to decide if the charge Lodise filed warrants a hearing.