Brevard County school district to hire armed security staff

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Brevard County School Board on Tuesday evening unanimously approved a new compromise plan to hire armed security staff members.

The new plan calls for hiring full-time school safety and security specialists who would be armed and receive the same screening and tactical training for guardians proposed by the controversial Sheriff-Trained Onsite Marshal Program, also known as S.T.O.M.P.

The board's decision came after five staff meetings and three town halls about an earlier proposal to arm and train volunteer school support employees and administrators. Teachers would have been ineligible for those positions.

The full-time security specialists will have concealed carry permits and serve as special sheriff’s deputies. They'll receive more than $40,000 in salary and benefits, which will cost the school district an estimated $1.2 million.

The specialists will first be assigned to the 28 elementary schools in the district that won't have school resource officers by the beginning of next school year. The district's high schools and middle schools already have school resource officers through cost-sharing agreements with cities and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

The board must now publicly approve a detailed job description for the security specialists. The earlier proposal to arm staff volunteers has been postponed indefinitely, officials said.

The compromise plan comes after weeks of public input and a number of demonstrations.

During the third and final town hall Monday evening, Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Desmond Blackburn heard from people who supported and people who opposed the plan that was previously being considered.

The board heard from more than two dozen members of the public Tuesday evening before voting on the plan.

"An untrained or undertrained civilian still just doesn't cut it," resident Laura Tarrillo said during the meeting.

"It's not going to be (the same) as knowing you have a set number of people who are carrying concealed weapons in the classrooms," resident Nick Tomboulides said.

Cox Media Group