GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – Green Cove Springs City Council approved an agreement with the Clay County School Board and the city that will add two school resource officers, a city spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The interlocal agreement gives $143,534 to the Green Cove Springs Police Department for two SRO positions.
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The SROs will be added to two schools within city limits -- Charles E. Bennett Elementary and Green Cove Springs Junior High.
Police Chief Derek Asdot said that the officers filling the positions are tenured police officers who will both getting certified as SROs in June.
“We look forward to building upon our current relationship we have with our students and fostering new relationships,” Asdot said.
The City Council's approval comes after the School Board passed in early Mary its security plan to add SROs in every public high school and junior high school, and a trained school safety officer in every public elementary school beginning next school year.
The plan will put the Clay County School District in compliance with new Florida legislation passed in response to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. It requires an armed, trained officer in each of the state's public schools.