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Volusia County School Board requests funds to hire more deputies for middle schools

By Raphael Pires, WFTV.com
By Raphael Pires, WFTV.com

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Volusia County School Board said its middle schools need more law enforcement on campus to deter bad behavior.

The board is asking county council members for funds to hire seven deputies. One to work at each middle school that currently doesn’t already have law enforcement on campus, plus a sergeant to oversee those deputies.

“There has not been really any law enforcement coverage in middle schools here in Volusia County,” said Volusia County Councilman Matt Reinhart.

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And that’s because it’s never really been needed, according to Reinhart, but recently that seems to have changed.

Which is why the Volusia County School Board is asking for the eight new hires.

“Of course, the first thing you think of is the amount of money that it’s going to cost to do it,” said Reinhart. “But on the other hand, it’s a necessity.”

The total cost would be $762,011.35 for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year , with the school district paying for 55% and the sheriffs office absorbing the remaining 45%.

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One of the ways district leaders are justifying the cost, is by pointing to the numbers of calls for service from Aug 14 to Oct. 6.

  • Creekside Middle - 98
  • Deltona Middle – 71
  • Galaxy Middle – 29
  • Heritage Middle – 91
  • Holly Hill School – 123
  • Silver Sands Middle – 207
  • Southwester Middle – 36

Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange had the most with 207.

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“That’s a number that jumped right out at me,” said Reinhart, who represents the district Silver Sands is in. “Public safety is number one and that means the children, the teachers, the workers in the school.”

The district also said that middle schools have had 718 alcohol, drug and tobacco related incidents and 647 fights in this first quarter.

But they say law enforcement makes a difference -- and point to the fact that River Springs and New Smyrna Beach Middle Schools both added resource officers this year and have seen drastic decreases in incident reports compared to the same time last year.

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River Springs went from 288 in the first quarter of 22-23 school year to only 33 in the first quarter of 23-24 school year and New Smyrna Beach went from 158 in the first quarter of 22-23 to 19 in the first quarter of 23-24 school year.

Reinhart said he likes the school boards idea but would like to go even further.

“I also want to know what’s the root cause of it -- why,” Reinhart said. “I’d like to dig a little deeper.”

While he expects to vote to approve the request, he first wants to hear from the other council members and the Public at the meeting on Nov. 7 at 9 a.m.

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