PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Palm Beach County School Board on Wednesday extended its contract with the sheriff's office to continue providing deputies to patrol schools.
This is a $3.5 million contract to continue using Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies to patrol school campuses through June of 2024.
The school district's police department relies on the sheriff's office and other local law enforcement agencies to make sure that every school has at least one law enforcement officer on campus, as mandated by state law.
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School board Chairman Frank Barbieri said that right now, there are 78 vacancies in the school district's police department. 48 of those vacancies are at schools.
To make sure those schools are covered, the district is using 20 PBSO deputies and 28 officers from other agencies.
Ideally, the department would have a total of 323 officers.
This fiscal year, the school police department hired 28 new officers. But the district said it needs the agreement with the sheriff's office in place to help with the constant flux of retirements, resignations, injuries, and new applicants.
