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Lee County board hears pitch to seek CALEA campus-security accreditation; officials outline costs, timeline
Summary
District safety leaders presented CALEA campus-security accreditation as a way to standardize non‑sworn campus security, citing a two‑year timeline, initial fees of $7,565 and annual maintenance costs of $3,110. Board members generally supported exploring accreditation and asked about liability and training implications.
Dave Newland, the presenter for the Office of Safety, told the Lee County School Board on April 8 that the district is studying campus‑security accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) as an option for the school district’s non‑sworn security staff.
"This is our non‑sworn security personnel," Newland said. He described the program as a set of nationally derived standards covering facility risk assessment, technology‑based monitoring, preventive patrol and regulatory reporting across a security organization.
CALEA regional program manager Vince Dorough, joining by videoconference, said the campus program was created in 2010 to cover non‑sworn security operations at educational sites. "Our campus program is our newest program," Dorough said. He cited about 1,300 CALEA accreditations across CALEA programs and pointed to Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania as an established K‑12 example.
Newland told the board the accreditation is targeted at the district’s non‑sworn security workforce — security specialists, safety staff and guardians — and that the district would fit CALEA’s size band for agencies with 25–199 full‑time security employees. He presented estimated near‑term costs: an initial accreditation fee of $7,565 (payable in two installments), and an annual maintenance fee of $3,110. District staff would have two years to achieve accreditation at either the basic or advanced level.
Board members asked whether accreditation reduces liability and whether the district would be a statewide leader. Newland and Dorough said accredited agencies show lower liability exposure and that Lee County would be among the first Florida K‑12 systems pursuing campus accreditation.
Several trustees voiced support. Board member John Fisher thanked the presenters and said he was "on board" and that the delegation the district took to Tallahassee received positive feedback. Trustee Giovannelli pressed about training and the category for the district’s size; Newland confirmed the district falls into the $25–199 employee band and emphasized accreditation is an ongoing, multi‑year process with continuous proofs and annual fees.
District superintendent Dr. Niese Carlin underscored safety as her top priority and thanked staff for bringing the option to the board. No formal vote or commitment to start the process was recorded during the workshop; discussion centered on next steps and questions for staff.
Why it matters: CALEA accreditation would create a uniform, nationally recognized set of practices for the district’s non‑sworn security staff and could affect training, policy and insurance standing. The board’s preliminary feedback was favorable, but members asked staff to clarify liability, insurance effects and sustainable staffing and training plans before a formal decision.
The board asked staff to return with cost/benefit details and next steps for a decision at a future meeting.
