Superintendent, Sheriff Announce Plan To Provide School Security

TAMPA, FL -- Starting this fall, there will be an armed school security guard at every public elementary school in Hillsborough County.

On Thursday, May 10, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins announced the county's plan to meet the new state law requiring an armed and trained law enforcement officer on every school campus starting this fall.

Chronister said students, however, won't notice much of a change, noting that the county has had security guards at high schools and middle schools for 49 years. That program. he said, is simply being expanded to include officers at elementary schools.

The sheriff noted that two-thirds of the district's current school security team are current or former law enforcement officers and a third are current or former military officers who are already trained for on-campus emergencies.

"I'm confident the district's security officers are ready for this responsibility because they have already been handling that role very well for years," said Chronister. "I can say, from first-hand experience, these school security officers work well with our law enforcement agency. Our relationship with Hillsborough school security is almost half a century strong. They are professionals and this is the right solution for Hillsborough County."

Unfortunately, noted Eakins, the school district currently doesn't have enough security guards to expand the program to include coverage of elementary schools and said it will take about two years to get 61 people hired and trained. Therefore, the sheriff has agreed to fill in the gap.

" In an effort to minimize the impact on our duties and service to the community, we are hiring certified law enforcement personnel on a contract basis for the school year to serve as newly formed school security deputies," Chronister said. "These new positions will help minimize taking current deputies out of the field."

Video via Hillsborough Sheriff