Broward schools kick off plan to replace cities’ police with their own officers
South Florida Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis |
The Broward School District plans to start replacing school police officers from local cities with ones from its own police force next school year, in a move designed to save money and bring a more consistent law enforcement presence in local schools.
Three cities — Fort Lauderdale, Margate and Hallandale Beach — received letters on Friday saying the district plans to no longer use their school resource officers during the next school year. Margate officers would be replaced by district officers in August, while most schools in Fort Lauderdale and Hallandale Beach would be replaced in January 2027, district officials said.
The district also plans to use fewer officers from the Coconut Creek Police Department, although these officers won’t be cut entirely, Michael Gregory, chief of safety and security, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The plan has angered the mayors of some cities, who argue their police officers would provide the best protection. An exception was Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who did not raise objections in an interview with the Sun Sentinel. He said the city has known for years the district eventually wanted to have its own force.
“I’m of the mind that the School Board has qualified individuals that are at least equal to the experience and the training of our police officers, and I’m hopeful that this decision will allow them to continue to move forward and establish their own independent enforcement agency,” Trantalis said.
The change is part of an eight-year plan to gradually replace school resource officers from outside agencies with district police, Gregory said. Right now, the district has 14 separate contracts with local cities to provide law enforcement protection from their departments or the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
“That means there’s 14 different chiefs setting policies in the school district of Broward County. There’s 14 different chiefs setting the training standards for school resource officers in the Broward County School District,” Gregory said. “And there’s 14 different sets of standards for what kind of equipment they carry, whether it be pepper spray or Tasers or a striking device.”
At the same time, the contract costs have increased 290% over the past decade and have doubled in the last five years, he said. Cities used to pay about half the cost of officers but started requiring more as costs escalated, as the school district received referendum money that could be used for safety and security.
Right now, the district pays about $119,000 for each school resource officer. Officials said the price for each district school police officer, including benefits, would be slightly above $100,000.
Right now, both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County schools have had their own full-scale police department for decades.
Broward has a small police force that has been largely used for personnel investigations and security at district events.
A proposal to expand the force into every school in the district was considered in early 2024 but rejected following major pushback from local cities and some parents.
The latest proposal also is meeting with some resistance.
“We have our own police force. They know the community, they know the families, they know the kids,” Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper told the Sun Sentinel.
Cooper said the City Commission plans to discuss the matter at a commissioner meeting on Wednesday.
Margate Mayor Antonio Arserio told the Sun Sentinel he was shocked and upset, because the city didn’t have any warning. He sent a letter to the school district on Monday raising a formal objection.
“The manner in which this decision was conveyed is unacceptable. Providing notice to the City, late on a Friday afternoon, without any prior discussion, consultation, or warning, demonstrates a significant breakdown in what has historically been a cooperative and professional partnership between the School Board and the City,” he wrote. “A decision of this magnitude — impacting student safety, municipal operations, and public trust — should not occur without direct engagement between our organizations.”
District spokesman John Sullivan said district leadership did meet collectively with cities about the district’s plans, although the specific affected cities weren’t named.
The district plans to replace about 27 officers with school district police, some of whom are currently employed and some of whom will be hired, Superintendent Howard Hepburn told the Sun Sentinel.
State law requires public schools to have either a law enforcement officer or a non-sworn armed guardian.
The district has been using guardians in schools where some cities haven’t supplied officers, mainly elementary schools. That will continue in places such as Fort Lauderdale, where the city hasn’t provided officers in elementary schools.
In Margate, the city provides police officers in elementary schools as well as a middle school, while Hallandale Beach supplies one for a K-8 school.
“Some of them have been in there 10 or 15 years at each of these schools,” Arserio told the Sun Sentinel. “It’s not just showing up for work, it’s the community policing, it’s the relationship. They become mentors.”
School district officials didn’t provide specific plans for Coconut Creek, saying some, but not all, city police officers would be replaced by district police.
Coconut Creek Mayor Jeffrey Wasserman told the Sun Sentinel on Monday that he hadn’t received any notice from the school district about a change for school resource officers. He said he would prefer to keep ones from the city in schools.
“Financially, there are ups and downs to it,” Wasserman said. “But our police know our schools, our police know our residents, our police are the ones building relationships, with events on the weekends and our family cookouts and all the things our police do for our kids in our city. We want familiarity.”
School Board member Nora Rupert, who represents Coconut Creek and Margate, said she will fight to keep city police officers in schools in those areas. Rupert said she isn’t sure if the School Board will vote on the matter specifically. She said she may object by voting no on a reorganization plan scheduled to come to the board later this month.
“When I am at schools in Margate and in Creek, the security is top-notch,” she said. “The SROs are not only in the school at the time, but they’re also in the after-school events. They show up for parades. They do their part to be part of the community.”
