Reports of "verbal abuse" by students aimed at Metro police officers assigned to two Nashville schools have, in part, prompted the department to reassign them to new locations.

Staffing changes among the Metro Nashville Police Department include moving three school resource officers from two Nashville schools and placing them at other facilities.

The SRO program includes 62 police employees, including seven sergeants and one lieutenant. According to Metro schools spokesperson Dawn Rutledge, that usually includes one SRO at each middle school and two at each high school.

"We've had good conversations with schools. We're not totally disappearing," police spokesperson Kris Mumford said.

She explained that officers are being moved from the two alternative schools because the officers did not feel they were able to do their jobs — including developing relationships with the students to mentor and educate them — as evidenced by the reported abuse.

Nashville’s alternative schools offer individualized learning plans for students who have had either academic or behavioral problems at another school.

Rutledge confirmed the officers would be moved to mainstream schools.

"We understand the position of MNPD, and we remain committed to continuing conversations and maintaining a positive working relationship," Rutledge said in an emailed statement.

The police department confirmed SROs Craig Gentry, John Jeanbaptiste and Latonya Thames were the officers being moved. They are moving into open positions at other schools.

Department says verbal abuse 'ongoing'

The verbal abuse has been going on for a long time, Mumford said. However, the exact length of that ongoing abuse, or the content of the comments, was not something she was able to confirm.

"This is something we've been thinking about for a while," she said. "We appreciate our relationship with schools. Our SROs do great work in those schools every day."

Mumford explained that an SRO's role includes three aspects: Education, mentoring and law enforcement. She said several officers found it difficult to develop those important relationships.

"They're not there to be security guards," she said.

Some SROs are involved in teaching classes on staying away from drugs and avoiding bad crowds, along with "building up" students, she said.

The department plans to continue to visit the schools, with patrol officers stopping by the schools on a likely daily basis.

Schools have own security

"The safety of students is our first priority," Rutledge said. "We believe their (MNPD's) presence is valuable in our schools and that their officers have a lot to share, which positively impacts our students and the community as a whole."

Metro schools has its own security teams on-site at district schools, Rutledge said.

Rutledge did not comment on the allegations of verbal abuse, but restated that the district would continue to focus on what is best for students.

This story has been updated with new information from Metro Nashville Police.

Tennessean reporter Jason Gonzales contributed to this reporting. Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.