School districts in the state of Florida have wide discretion in how they keep campuses safe -- including deciding, if they wish, to hire private, armed security officers to patrol school grounds.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a legal opinion to that effect last Friday night at the request of the Manatee County School District.
It is my opinion that a school district may exercise its home rule authority to determine whether the use of armed security guards may be in support of an approved school-sanctioned activity, Bondi said in her ruling.
Bondis ruling came in response to a Manatee County School District cry for help after the School Board voted in September to approve a three-year, $3 million contract with a local security firm -- then in a fit of buyer's remorse, disarmed the guards the day before they were set to begin because members feared they might be running afoul of the law. See Manatee School Superintendent Rick Mills' letterand School Board Attorney Mitchell Teitelbaum's brief to Bondi.
Board members worried their $3 million contract could go horribly wrong if their decision was challenged under Florida Statute 790.115 -- stating, a person shall not possess a firearm on school property.
In his brief to the attorney general, Mitchell Teitelbaum argued that protecting elementary schools -- and Manatee County has 34 of them -- should be categorized as a school-sanctioned activity."
Bondi agreed, and in her ruling leaned on the caveat in the 2-year-old statute that firearms and other weapons may be allowed on school property as authorized in support of school-sanctioned activities, at a school-sponsored event or on the property of any school.
Said Teitelbaum, "The attorney general's opinion was extremely thorough and very decisive. In fact, her opinion is one of the first impressions and impacts this district as well as other school districts throughout the state has on this very sensitive issue."
Retired school board attorney Ricardo Cahill told Sunshine State News, "If you read 790.115, I think you can see the Legislature was a little conflicted itself when it wrote this law. It's a statement against guns on campus on the one hand, but on the other, a wholehearted attempt not to tie school districts' hands."
Most districts use school resource officers -- police or sheriff's department employees -- to patrol their campuses. But more and more, feeling the pinch and pressured to spend more money in the classroom, Florida school districts have found contracting with local law enforcement agencies is an expense they need to reduce.
"Rep. (Greg) Steube might find his bill to assign security designees on campus gets more respect next session," said Cahill. "School safety is a big deal these days but few districts I know have money enough to address it.
"I'd like to see a blue ribbon panel thinking outside the box and helping all 64 districts find an answer," Cahill said.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
