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Polk district OKs putting deputy-trained security personnel in schools

The proposal is to create a new position entirely: Security personnel specifically hired and trained by the sheriff's office for this job. Sheriff Grady Judd has agreed to train them, similar to how he's trained staff at two private colleges in Polk County.

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WTSP) -- The Polk County School Board approved a plan to train and arm school employees.

The vote approving the School Safety Guardian plan took place Tuesday night.

Every district in Florida is required by state law to have someone with a gun trained to take out an active shooter at every school by the start of next school year. That could include a law enforcement officer or an armed “guardian.”

The superintendent knows there's not enough money in the budget to put a resource officer at every school, but she also didn't want to arm teachers or other educators.

Her proposal was to create a new position entirely: Security personnel specifically hired and trained by the sheriff's office for this job. Sheriff Grady Judd has agreed to train them, similar to how he's trained staff at two private colleges in Polk County.

Under the proposal, “guardians” will make $30,000 per year plus benefits.

The state is giving the district $3.3 million, which is almost enough to pay for all of them, at least for the first year. The district will have to cover the other roughly $400,000.

“Guardians” will undergo a background check, psychological test and more than a hundred hours of firearms training.

These new armed employees will only be in elementary schools. All high schools and most middle schools already have SROs. The district has a plan to put SROs in the remaining middle schools that don’t have one.

The district has to hire and train 90 people by August, so they have to act fast.

School board chair Lynn Wilson knows that’s going to be a difficult task. He's hoping retired law enforcement and military personnel will apply, as well as young people who want to go into law enforcement.

“There can be barriers to individuals entering law enforcement in general, so this may be an opportunity for those folks to get their foot in the door of law enforcement,” he said. “They'll be working full time. It may allow them to pay for the law enforcement classes they need to become full-fledged law enforcement officers."

The HR director said the district is ready to post the job listing first thing Thursday morning.

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