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By Bryan Boggiano
The City of Coconut Creek and the School Board of Broward County may finally reach an agreement on school resource officer (SRO) services and pay for the 2022/2023 school year.
The city commission will consider approving a contract at their Thursday meeting that would reimburse the city for providing SROs throughout the school year.
There are 12 SROs throughout the city’s public schools. Each school has at least one. Lyons Creek Middle School, Coconut Creek High School, and Monarch High School have two.
Coconut Creek currently provides officers to schools through the city’s police department. The school board traditionally reimburses the city for costs associated with SROs.
However, the city did not have a contract with the school board for much of the school year, as did other cities, including Coral Springs. That city approved a contract with the school board on May 17.
Despite this, the city maintained SROs at each public school throughout the school year.
In August, then-Superintendent Vicki Cartwright promised to have a contract after the passage of the Secure the Next Generation referendum, which increases funding for school safety and security, among other initiatives.
Negotiations stalled and did not resume until January. They continued through March when the absence of a contract reached a boiling point.
At a March 28 school board workshop, Broward League of Cities President Bob Mayersohn and Broward County Chiefs of Police Association President Christopher O’Brien implored the board to take action.
At their April 11 meeting, the board agreed to reimburse cities $103,000 per SRO per year, up from the previous $61,200.
Although the new contract would run through June 8, two schools, Atlantic Technical College and the Dave Thomas Education Center, will have an SRO through August 11.
Through June 8, the city’s total reimbursement would be $1,236,000. Through August 11, that incremental increases to $1,277,200.
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