BUNNELL, Fla. – Sheriff Rick Staly shared concerns on Tuesday over a possible loss in funding for some school resource deputies. The Flagler County administrator this week told the school district that the county wants to pull out of its 50-50 agreement to pay for deputies on campus.
The sheriff said he is worried about a big drop in safety coverage if neither government agency can fully afford to keep the current standard.
“They have a $222 million budget and they want to compromise the security of our students and faculty on these campuses,” said Staly about the county.
Currently, there is one deputy at each elementary and middle school and two deputies at each high school in the county.
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Staly said there have been several incidents already this year like a brawl at Matanzas High in the fall that proved the need to have more than just a guardian.
“Those campuses are huge. They’re teenagers. Things happen and you need more than one law enforcement officer on those campuses,” he said.
The county administrator informed the superintendent about the possible change in a letter that says in part:
“As you are aware, our county government has been dedicated to supporting the educational needs of our community through various legacy expenditures over the years. However, after careful review and consideration, we have concluded that we can no longer sustain annual legacy expenditures that are not directly aligned with our strategic plan or mandated by state statute, while at the same time achieving our responsibility as county government.”
As part of the 50/50 current agreement, the school district and county pay $1 million each for the deputies each year.
County Commission Chair Andy Dance said they don’t want to get rid of deputies but have other new, big expenses, and want to explore options.
“That’s the beauty of it is that these discussions are going to help formalize potentially a new funding arrangement. Has the school district exhausted all of its possible funding sources,” he said.
School Board Chair Cheryl Massaro told News 6 that between rising employee insurance costs, and the district losing about $700,000 in a recent scam their budget is tight but she will push to keep as many deputies as possible.
“A guardian can’t interject when there’s a fight in the cafeteria. They can’t go help. The only way they can engage is if there’s an active shooter,” she said, “They will stay. We just have to figure out how to keep it.”
The Flagler County administrator is set to meet with the superintendent next week to talk about a possible transition plan.
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