Even before a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School, Cynthia Aversa had been looking for ways to hire a school resource officer at the charter school she runs on Florida's Treasure Coast.

After the shooting in Parkland, Fla., Aversa promptly decided to contract with the local Sheriff's office to place a full-time deputy at Indian River Charter High School, where she is principal.

But she is still not sure how she is going to pay for it.

“The actual nuts and bolts of the finances of the program have not come to the forefront,” she said. “The most important issue is student safety and beyond. That is going to be our responsibility to see where we are able to pull the funds to pay for this resource officer.”

Miami-Dade Public Schools hold an induction ceremony for school police officers. While some large urban districts have their own police forces, many public schools contract with local law enforcement agencies for resource officers. Funding arrangements vary within and among districts.

Like other public school officials across the state, Aversa acted quickly to respond to concerns about school safety in the wake of the massacre. Like her counterparts in school districts, she's still trying to figure out how to make the funding work.

A little over three weeks after the shooting, Gov. Rick Scott signed SB 7026 to enhance safety and security. Every public school in the state will receive proportionate funding to hire a school resource officer or participate in a program to train and arm school employees.

The bill gave public schools an additional $97.5 million for resource officers. School districts across the state have said that while the money will help them hire officers, it won't cover the full cost of adding an officer at every school campus.

This week, the Tampa Bay Times reported one charter school management company, Charter Schools USA, has asked districts to place a resource officer in every school it runs. (more…)