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Manatee commissioners delay decision on sharing cost for school resource officers

Until now, the Manatee County School District has shared the cost for school resource officers 50-50 with the county, but under a new, not fully funded state mandate, that could change.

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. -- “I don’t think we can pay half,” said Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac during a board meeting today on school security.

Until now, the Manatee County School District has shared the cost for school resource officers 50-50 with the county, but under a new, not fully funded state mandate, 34 more SROs are needed to meet the new requirements.

Benac said, “This was a mandate to the school system, not the county.”

It’s the school district that may have to pay for it all, including the county’s $1.6 million portion.

“My 50-50 comes from them. If they choose not to fund it, we don’t have the ability to put a school resource officer in the school,” said Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells.

Commissioner Charles Smith is willing to continue paying but not for the new SRO’s in elementary schools.

“Whatever we’ve been doing in the past…stay doing that,” he said

But other commissioners say the county may not even be able to afford that much.

“We have to look at what we can do to help you and still be solvent,” said Commissioner Carol Whitmore.

County commissioners have been crunching the numbers. Last month voters approved a 1 mil property tax, giving the Manatee School District $37 million. But in November, voters are expected to approve another homestead exemption. If approved, it’s bad news for the county budget because it means $9.5 million less in property taxes.

Whitmore asked school board member Dave Miner, “I know 51 percent goes to salaries the rest what are you doing with it.”

Miner responded, “Using any of that money for SRO’s is improper not something that can be considered.”

“You’re eventually going to have to create own police department,” said Smith to school board leaders, Wells, the police chiefs for Bradenton and Palmetto and those city’s mayors, who were sitting in the commission chambers.

But that’s not an option for school officials or law enforcement

“I’m not a big fan of that," Wells said. "I think it’s going to be difficult to recruit the kind of person that they want as an SRO and get them the training that they need. We don’t put a brand new deputy in a school, we put a seasoned deputy. One that’s been through the ropes, seen a lot of things, knows how to talk to people and handle every type of situation that may come their way in a school.”

Deputy School Superintendent Ron Ciranna asked the board for two weeks to get the answers they need and come up with alternative plans.

Ciranna said the district will look at its finances and see how they can move money around.

“We’re all on the same team, we work together with you,” Ciranna told the commissioners,

Commissioners will discuss the issue again May 8.

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