School security showdown in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Orange County Sheriff: Schools are Covered, but More Deputies Needed to Keep up New Security Policy

Day two of school and Orange County Sheriff’s deputies said law enforcement is posted at ever school in the district, but the top cop said he needs more funding to keep it that way. In memos between Sheriff Jerry Demings and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs last week, Demings said he needed 75 more deputies and support staffers to have enough school resource officers for every school in the district.

He told the mayor in that memo that it would run the county about $11.2 million.  In a response, Mayor Jacobs told Demings the county would “find the funding necessary to meet this critical safety need.” However how long that process, including hiring, training, and placing those deputies will take is unclear.

The schools are secure though, said Sheriff’s spokesman Captain Carlos Torres.  Torres said deputies have been temporarily reassigned to cover the school security needs for the time being. He said deputies are even working overtime as needed to see that both the new need and the on-going one of securing the county are filled.

"We were able to strategically and creatively move some resources to schools on a temporary basis,” said Torres.

However neither the Sheriff nor the Mayor were available Tuesday to elaborate on the situation further. 
The school district also declined to do an interview on the topic. Their Chief Communications Officer Scott Howat said only, via statement: “Every district-operated school in Orange County has been assigned a law enforcement officer to serve as an SRO for this school year (18-19).”