The Sarasota County School Board is searching for the new leaders of its school-based police department.
The board is looking to hire a police chief and three sergeants to form the leadership staff. Part of the goal is to create a “comprehensive and progressive police department” for all 53 schools.
The district is hiring its own police force after determining the costs to do that would be less than hiring current county Sheriff’s Deputies as school resource officers.
Under the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, every school in the state must have an officer in-house.