St. Johns County School Board discusses cost of adding deputies

Sheriff sends letter to commissioners, saying he needs $5.5M for 37 new deputies

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – School safety is the No. 1 priority of the St. Johns County School Board and it was the primary topic of a workshop held Tuesday to address how to beef up security and comply with Florida’s new law requiring a resource officer or other trained, armed person at each school by  August.

That requirement is a major part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act that was signed into law last month, barely a month after a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. The district said adding more deputies would cost millions.

At the workshop, not only did school leaders discuss school resource officers, they also addressed the mental health aspect of the school safety bill.

VIEW: Presentation shown to SJC board members
READ: 25 deputies needed to put one at every school

SJC school resource deputy status

  • The district has 15 deputies in schools, including one at each of the county's seven high schools and three middle schools
  • The district currently is 25 deputies short of having one at every school
  • In the most recent year-to-date contract between the St. Johns County school district and the sheriff’s office, each officer costs nearly $46,000
  • It currently costs $686,010 for the 15 current deputies
  • Adding 25 extra deputies, would cost around $1.15 million
  • In the 2018-2019 budget, the state is giving St. Johns $2 million in safe school funds -- $1.4 million that must be used for school resource officers

In addition to hiring more St. Johns County deputies to staff schools, the board is considering two other options: creating a school district police force similar to Duval County's School Board police, or the newly established Guardian Program, in which the Sheriff's Office would train and equip non-teaching school personnel to carry guns on campus.

Kelly Aguirrechu is a St. Johns County parent and also a volunteer with the advocacy group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which believes arming school employees could lead to trouble.

"We're not sure if they would get enough training," Aguirrechu said. "Confusion can happen when police officers enter the scene. It can add to confusion when you have a regular citizen who has a gun." 

Three board members shared that concern, and Superintendent Tim Forson responded with a "hybrid model" that could include a combination of deputies, school resource officers and armed school personnel.

At Tuesday's workshop, the district also addressed expanding mental health services to students.

District leaders recommended adding two additional school psychologists, six more mental health counselors, and three social workers, two full time and one part time. Their salaries and benefits would be paid through state money, although there’s no guarantee that state funds will be made available after the first year.

"We're seeing just tragic occurrences that involve those that need support," Forson said. "I think, to make this better in the long term, we have to address the mental health piece."

Forson said the hope is to move forward with both security and mental health staffing issues in June.

St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar sent a letter to the St. Johns County Commission, outlining his concerns and his skepticism about the cost-effectiveness of putting a deputy in all 40 of the county's public schools next school year.

READ: Letter from sheriff to St. Johns County Commission

Shoar wrote that, in addition to the 25 extra deputies needed, eight deputies who would serve as backups and four supervisors would be needed -- a total of 37 new law enforcement positions.

The sheriff estimated the cost of 37 new sworn deputies would be $5.5 million -- for just the first year.

The state is only providing a fraction of that money -- $1.4 million -- so the county has to come up with a funding source, not just for the next school year, but for subsequent years. 


About the Authors:

Ashley Harding joined the Channel 4 news team in March 2013. She reports for and anchors The Morning Show.