Off-duty deputies scaled back at Orange County schools

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9's Janine Reyes has learned the Orange County School District has stopped using off-duty deputies at some of its schools.

The deputies were used for traffic control near Howard Middle School, Waterford Elementary School, Union Park Elementary and John Young Elementary.

A spokesperson for the district told Eyewitness News that it paid for the officers at the six schools through mid-October so parents and students could safely get accustomed to the traffic.

“This car tried to go around them on the right hand side and almost took out my stroller with my kid in it, and it's scary,” said parent Jill Stockdale, who walks to and from the campus daily, usually with a stroller in tow.

“You can tell when there's an officer there. The traffic is backed up on Deerfield, which can be an inconvenience for drivers, but it's so much safer for the kids,” Stockdale said.

The district paid $59,000 so far this year for officers at six campuses during the school season, but state budget cuts won't allow them to continue.

Eyewitness News learned that at four schools in Orange County, the district kept officers long enough for parents to determine if they need to leave earlier to drop off their child or if their child may need an escort because of traffic.

Stockdale says even with an escort, the commute can be dangerous.

“I walk my 6-year-old from my front door to the door of the school and that's not always the case for everybody, and we need to be protecting all the kids,” Stockdale said.

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