Sarasota sheriff seeks candidates to add security deputies at 12 elementary schools

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office announced it is seeking 14 candidates to provide campus security to 12 elementary schools in the unincorporated area of the county.

The program comes a little more than a month since the mass shooting in Parkland that left 17 students and teachers dead and a mounting pressure to provide more security in schools.

The sheriff’s office and the Sarasota County School District agreed on the “School Resource Deputy II Program,” which would begin next school year at 12 elementary schools in the unincorporated part of the county. Late last week, the district decided to implement the program.

The new position will be responsible for ensuring the safety, security and welfare of students, faculty, staff and visitors in the assigned school, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy will patrol the assigned areas of the school building, grounds and parking lots to “deter, detect, report and stop criminal activity.”

The deputy also will be required to participate on the threat assessment team and attend after-school events, as needed. The position will work 10 months out of the year based on the school district’s calendar.

“It has been our goal from day one to identify a practical and cost-effective solution for the school district,” Sheriff Tom Knight said. “After ample research and internal review, we put together a program that is not only compliant with the new law, but will stand to benefit the district and its students, while appealing to law enforcement-certified career seekers looking to give back to this community. The School Resource Deputy II Program is really a win-win for everyone.”

The program comes as an addition to the current school officer resource program within the sheriff’s office, which staffs officers in the middle and high schools in unincorporated Sarasota County. Unlike the original program, though, deputies in the new program would provide school security only and will not assist in areas such as instruction and mentorship.

Hiring the 14 security deputies would cost an estimated $1.1 million, according to a March 21 letter that Sheriff Knight sent to the school board. To continue the existing school resource officer program, which expires in June, the cost will be around $1.5 million.

Combined, the two programs will come out to an estimated $2.6 million for the 2018-19 school year.

Until this point, the sheriff’s office and school district have split the cost for the existing program, but as part of the new proposal, the sheriff’s office is requesting the district pay 100 percent for both.

That request comes, the sheriff’s office says, as new legislation has granted districts additional state funding and a week after voters again approved an extra school tax that will generate approximately $56 million for the district per year.

While the school district has agreed to implement the program, the school board hasn’t reviewed and voted on the contract.

Interested candidates can learn more by following this link. The position will remain advertised until all 14 positions are filled, the sheriff’s office says.

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Sarasota sheriff seeks candidates to add security deputies at 12 elementary schools."