Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
During a special meeting of the Madison County Board of County Commissioners on Friday, June 22, and with the new school year fast approaching, Madison County Sheriff Ben Stewart presented a budget amendment request in the amount of $63,058.34. These funds will be used for the purpose of funding and equipping three additional School Resource Officers (SROs) for Lee Elementary School, Pinetta Elementary School and Greenville Elementary School. This budget amendment will allow the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) to begin the process of hiring and training new officers before the beginning of the new school year.
In February of this year, the Florida legislature passed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act in the wake of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fl. One of the provisions of this act called for professional security personnel at every school in the state. The act calls for local School Superintendents to cooperate with local Sheriffs to provide these additional officers. These officers could be SROs employed by the sheriff's office or they could be other security personnel that would be approved of and trained by the local sheriff. Currently, the MCSO has two SROs on staff. Each school district is receiving funding based on student population to fulfill these requirements. In order to fulfill the requirements of the act, the MCSO has decided to hire three additional SROs. Madison Creative Arts Academy and James Madison Preparatory High School have decided to utilize other school security personnel (guardians) at their prospective schools.
In his letter addressed to the County Commissioners, Stewart, "requests a budget amendment for the fiscal year 2017-2018 in the amount of $63,058.34. This request is for the Sheriff's Office and the [Madison County] School District to be in compliance with SB 7026 [the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act] as it relates to school resource officers assigned to schools and to cover salaries, benefits and initial startup costs for the placement of a minimum of three additional SROs at outlying schools in Madison County. The [MCSO] has coordinated with the School District and has received an approved SRO contract beginning July 1, 2018 in the amount of $310,000 The largest portion of these funds shall be utilized during the 2018-2019 fiscal year SRO program."
One stumbling block causing difficulty for the MCSO and the School District is the fact that the two institutions operate on two different calendars. The need for the MCSO to move forward with hiring and training the additional officers for the beginning of the school year meant that the MCSO could not wait until September or October to move forward with the SRO program. That is what necessitated the budget amendment request.
The Commissioners approved the request on a unanimous vote.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Madison County Board of County Commissioners will take place on Wednesday, July 11, at 9 a.m. The meeting will take place in the board meeting room in the Courthouse Annex, located at 229 SW Pinckney St., in Madison.