School Resource Officer program renewed

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

At its regular meeting on Monday, July 11, the Jefferson County School Board unanimously approved an agreement with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) to provide the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program for Jefferson County Schools (JCS) for the next five years.
The agreement states that both parties recognize “the outstanding benefits of the School Resource Officer program” to the citizens of Jefferson County.
It specifies that the board shall pay $255,000 per year in personnel funding to JCSO for three full-time School Resource Deputies (SRDs) at the school. Costs to be covered by the payments – to be made in 12 monthly installments of $21,250 – include salary, pension/retirement contributions, disability insurance, incentive pay, life insurance, health insurance, equipment, travel, fuel for vehicles and training.
The sheriff is to work in coordination with the superintendent to assign SROs at the school, and the funds are to be used only for costs associated with the hiring and continued employment of the SROs at the school.
On Tuesday, July 12, Sheriff Mac McNeill reported to the News that all three SROs who have been serving JCS will continue in their role. This includes Cpl. Maurice Arnold, Cpl. Jerry Blackmon and Deputy Brandon Krajewski.
“I would like to thank Superintendent Eydie Tricquet and members of the Jefferson County School Board for partnering with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to ensure the safety of our kids,” said McNeill. “We are honored to be a part of the team and a member of the Jefferson County Schools’ family.”
McNeill explained in a later conversation that the school receives “Safe School” funding from the State of Florida to be used primarily for the SRO program. Last year the amount was around $309,000, and McNeill expects the level of funding to be similar this year.
JCS Principal Jackie Pons commented on Wednesday, July 13, “As the new Principal of Jefferson K-12, I have been very impressed with the leadership of Sheriff McNeill and his strong group of SROs. Sheriff McNeill has taken the initiative to walk this entire campus with me and is very committed to the safety and well-being of our students, teachers and community. During this school year, I had the opportunity to work side by side with our SROs and I am very impressed with their leadership and how much they genuinely care about the well-being of our students. This partnership is something the entire Jefferson community can be proud of.”
According to the agreement, deputies assigned to JCS remain in the JCSO chain of command while coordinating their program activities with the school principal and school staff. They perform a range of duties outlined in the agreement, including having expertise in communicating with students about laws and policing; being available for conferences when problems of law enforcement or crime prevention are involved; being a resource for making referrals to community agencies that offer assistance such as mental health services and drug treatment to youth and their families; assisting in the development of plans and strategies that prevent and/or minimize dangerous situations; and conducting formal police interviews with students if necessary. SROs also have the duty to take law enforcement action as necessary, including, at the request of the principal or his designee's request, to “take appropriate law enforcement action against intruders and unwanted guests who may appear at the school and related school functions....”
SROs are not school disciplinarians, nor are they expected to perform lunchroom duties, serve as hall monitors or provide regular monitoring duties. SROs may, however, assist in a problem area until the problem is solved.
If sheriff's deputies use their off-duty time to provide security at school functions and extracurricular events, the agreement specifies compensation of $40 per hour for that work.
For the school's part, they are expected to provide SROs with equipped and furnished office space; report matters regarding safety to the SRO/JCSO; and cooperate with law enforcement investigations of incidents reported to the SRO/JCSO. For example, the school must report reasonable suspicion of child abuse to the Department of Children and Families and the SRO/JCSO. The school is to report to the SRO/JCSO when criminal activity is believed to have occurred on school property, during school-sponsored transportation or during school-sponsored activities. Other occurrences related to safety also are to be reported to the SRO/JCSO, such as a fatality, serious injury, missing student, suicide attempt, bus disturbance, fire, environmental hazard, suspected site surveillance, suspicious person/item; building collapse and any other matter that may pose a threat to school safety.
The agreement includes provisions for dismissal or replacement of an SRO and “hold harmless” clauses regarding liability.
Although the agreement has a five-year term, either party can terminate the agreement with a 90-day written notice if there has been a failure to perform, or with a 180-day written notice without cause.
Although board members unanimously approved the agreement, some questions arose during the discussion about training of SROs and financing the program, specifically how “Safe Schools” funding would be used. There was a request that the superintendent provide further details on these points at a future board meeting.
The Jefferson County School Board is next scheduled to convene on Wednesday, July 27, at 5 p.m. for a Preliminary Budget Hearing for the Proposed Budget, to be immediately followed by its July Workshop Board Meeting.