Some Orange County schools may lose student resource officers next school year
Spectrum News 13 | By Brandon Spencer | December 4, 2024
ORLANDO, Fla. — Several Orange County Public Schools could lose school resource officers (SROs) on campus for the 2025-26 school year as contract negotiations with municipalities in Apopka, Windermere, Winter Park, Winter Garden and Ocoee have stalled.
School board members say certain resources are a must have, but officials in those municipalities say they are asking for more money than they have to give.
“We offered a three-year deal to all of the municipalities and the Sheriff’s Office with an increase of I think around 20% so that we can keep SROs in our schools for the next three years,” said OCPS District 1 Board Member Angie Gallo. “I just firmly believe that there should be SROs on all of our campuses.”
Gallo says they’re hoping to work with the municipalities, but they’re not sure if they’ll be able to come to an agreement.
Meantime, one parent says you can’t put a price on students’ safety.
Marcus Alford has kids that go to school in Apopka and is very embedded into his community.
He shared how some kids feel about their SROs.
“They say, ‘hey I love him, he’s a part of my everyday routine. He makes it make sense,’” Alford said.
It’s a feeling that proves to be invaluable and helps build relationships that not only help students while they’re in school but in their everyday lives as well.
“They don’t fear the police anymore because there’s a relationship now,” Alford said. “These kids grow up to respect the police, to respect authority, but they also feel safe while they’re at school.”
Alford feels that the solution is simple.
“We make money for a lot of different things, but what’s the safety of your child worth to you,” Alford said.
Gallo says the district is looking at their options, which could include a guardian program that would take 6 months to institute.
Alford feels that SROs are the best fit to keep his kids safe and if they’re not available, he’s going to take things into his own hands.
“We can’t put politics in it, we can’t put money towards it, we want to protect our kids. Otherwise, I need to take my kid out of here and put them in a private school to where we can have a security system in place to where we overpay for it to make sure that they’re safe,” Alford explained.
Gallo says there is a work session meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center at 1 p.m. to discuss possible options if deals are not reached.
The five municipalities have agreed on a deal, however, that will keep SROs in those area schools until the end of the 2024-25 school year.
