Published: Monday, January 14, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 14, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.
TALLAHASSEE | Lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott are looking at ways to improve security at Florida public schools following the tragic school shooting in Connecticut, but the scope and cost of those improvements remain unclear.
Speaking to the Florida Association of School Administrators on Monday, Scott said the school districts need to review their security measures and then work with state officials on a plan.
"We've got to have a legitimate conversation about school safety ? what's the right way of doing it," Scott said. "We cannot have a situation where people don't feel comfortable going to school, whether you're a student, whether you're a parent
"Nobody should be unsafe."
The Florida School Boards Association has suggested as much as $100 million may be needed for enhanced security, on top of the $64.2 million the state now spends on its "Safe Schools" program, which provides funding for school resource officers.
Scott, who will outline his state budget plan for 2013-14 in the next few weeks, said he was not ready to commit to any figure until he has more information.
Lawmakers said they are ready to back enhanced safety plans, but they, too, want to assess the state's needs.
Two state Senate committee this week will begin the debate on the issue, with the Senate Education Committee taking up the review this afternoon, with the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education ? chaired by Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton ? looking at the funding issues Wednesday.
Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, a former Leon County school superintendent who sits on both Senate committees, said lawmakers will be looking for details on the schools' security needs.
"That's one of the problems ? no one understands or knows exactly how much it would cost because we haven't decided, quite frankly, as a state or the districts what level we are trying to get to," Montford said. "So there are a lot of fundamental questions that have to be answered."
Montford, head of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said lawmakers also want to determine what level of security parents and teachers expect in the schools.
"With all that being said, I know that school safety is the number one priority of the districts and the number one priority of the state," he said.
Currently, security staffing varies among districts, with most high schools having security officers, although they are less common in middle and elementary schools, Montford said.
School districts in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties had resource officers at elementary schools before the Great Recession, but trimmed most of those positions to meet the budget shortfalls that followed the downturn.
Now, districts point to cost, which was split between districts and law enforcement, as the biggest impediment to reinstituting the program. It costs about $100,000 per resource officer in Sarasota County, factoring in pay, benefits and equipment.
"The question is: How do you fund it?" Montford said, noting some districts pay for all it, others split it or pay nothing.
In light of the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn., Montford said it is time for the state to take "a comprehensive look" at school security "but at the same time we have to move quickly."
School officials have said some increased security funding for the districts should go toward building improvements, such as locks and fencing that could enhance the safety of the students, faculty and staffs.
However, in a question-and-answer session with the governor, one administrator noted that district funding for construction and maintenance of buildings has been cut in recent years as lawmakers shifted $55 million in the Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) from the public schools to charter schools in 2011. The finance shift was continued in this year's budget.
Scott did not indicate he would support any changes in that decision, while noting because of declining revenues in the PECO program and prior commitments there is "very little money" for new projects.
Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/20130114/news/130119615
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