School board seeks cost analysis, pilot language on proposed SRD "floater" in Flagler contract

At a July 8 workshop the Flagler County School Board discussed proposed changes to the district's School Resource Deputy (SRD) agreement with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, including new language to give deputies electronic access to campus buildings and a proposal to add a full-time floater deputy.

District staff told the board the electronic-access language (page 10, Article 17 of the draft contract) would allow sheriff's deputies to use district electronic doors during emergencies without a separate memorandum of understanding. The second change would add a floater deputy who would be scheduled to cover routine vacancies during the school day and to supplement evening extracurricular coverage when available.

Why it matters: district officials said the floater is intended to reduce recurring overtime charges the district now pays when a deputy assigned to a school is absent or when special events require extra officers. Board members pressed for a clearer dollar comparison before choosing between the two contract options. District staff cited roughly $78,000 in required school-coverage overtime last year and about $57,000 in extracurricular overtime; they said the two contract options differ by roughly $120,000 in annual cost but that a precise offset estimate is difficult without a staffing/usage matrix.

Chief Strowbridge of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office told the board the SRD relationship historically has been treated as a service contract. In the meeting he said, "It's always been a service provider type of contract." District staff said the floater would be an employee of the sheriff and the sheriff's office would carry workers' compensation and other employment-related obligations for that position.

Board members and staff discussed scheduling details and limits: the floater could not cover multiple simultaneous events and likely would not eliminate all overtime, particularly for high-attendance football games that routinely require several deputies. Board members requested a staffing matrix that clarifies when deputies are required at extracurricular events and asked for a year-by-year comparison showing overtime paid under the current model and estimated overtime under the floater proposal.

Next steps: staff and the sheriff's office were asked to return to the July 22 board meeting with both contract options and a clearly written one-year pilot proposal if the board chooses the floater route. The board did not take a final vote on the contract at the workshop.

Provenance: The SRD contract discussion begins when district staff introduce the item and the sheriff's office representative (00:04:58) and continues through the board's budgeting and pilot questions (00:51:57).