Lakeland administrators say county wants full SRO costs shifted to district; board resists paying more

Assistant Superintendent Jake Massey told the Lakeland board that county commissioners have proposed a ‘full cost recovery’ model for county deputy school-resource officers, shifting from the district’s current arrangement to a model that would require the district to pay the officers’ loaded salaries and a roughly 25% overhead fee for equipment and vehicle costs.

Massey said the change—if adopted—would move the district from paying a portion of officers’ salaries to paying the full loaded cost plus additional overhead. “What they’re proposing is to switch from our current contract, which is we pay 70% they pay 30%, to now us paying 100% of the loaded salary, which is salary and benefits, plus a 25% overhead fee,” Massey said during the meeting.

Board members pressed staff on the financial and operational implications. Several trustees noted that deputies are not assigned to schools year-round and questioned whether it is fair to pay full-year costs when officers spend months on other duties. One trustee urged staff to review the original agreement and historical financial contributions from the county. Massey said he and district leadership have met with county commissioners, that staff will pursue follow-up information and that the district expects a usage/time report from the sheriff’s office to help quantify how much on-duty time deputies spend assigned to schools.

Trustees indicated the district’s negotiating position: they would not increase what the district currently pays without further discussion and documentation. Massey said the district will continue conversations with county officials and will seek clarity on what other taxing districts are being asked to pay and on whether a unilateral increase would be equitable.

Next steps: district staff will request a report showing SRO time allocation and bring that data back to the board to inform any further negotiations.