Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) and five local municipalities, including Apopka, have reached a tentative agreement in providing school resource officers (SRO) coverage at all district schools through the 2026-27 school year.
In addition to the city of Apopka, the cities of Ocoee, Winter Garden, Winter Park and the town of Windermere have entered the tentative SRO agreement.
“This agreement underscores the district’s unwavering commitment to ensure the safety and security of all of its students, staff, and school communities,” an April 16 news release from OCPS said. “The presence of SROs plays a crucial role in maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment.”
The school district thanked the municipalities for their cooperation in reaching the agreement.
“We are grateful to the municipalities for their dedication to our shared goal of fostering a secure educational environment for all students,” OCPS Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez said in the news release. “This agreement represents the commitment we have to our schools and highlights the importance of collaboration in achieving our safety objectives.”
The city of Apopka did not immediately return a request for comment.
When the SROs negotiations were pending in late 2024, OCPS had a one-year contract with the law enforcement agencies in Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Winter Park, and Windermere, which secures SROs on campuses for the 2024-25 school year in compliance with the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
At that same time, the district had a three-year contract with the remaining four agencies: Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orlando Police Department, Maitland Police Department, and Eatonville Police Department.
If an agreement couldn’t be reached, the Guardian Program is the only option allowed by Florida law to provide the added security to school campuses, according to OCPS in a news release in December 2024.
Last winter’s negotiations were further complicated by a Wisconsin school shooting, after which the Apopka Police Department asked OCPS to reconsider the SROs negotiations.
On December 16, 2024, a 15-year-old girl at Abundant Life Christian School shot and killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others before shooting herself.
For the 2024-25 school year, OCPS offered all municipalities a 20% increase from last year’s reimbursement rate and proposed a $75,000 rate for the 2026-27 year — a 25% increase from the 2023-24 year, according to an email OCPS sent out to district families on Tuesday, December 17. The district-proposed SRO reimbursement increase far exceeded the 11% salary increase given to OCPS teachers and support staff over the last two years.
The Dec. 17, 2024, OCPS email was drafted and scheduled for sending before the Madison, Wis., school shooting, an OCPS spokesman previously said.
Apopka Police Department released its statement the same day in response to the Dec. 17, 2024, email, calling the timing of when OCPS sent out its email as “disingenuous to both our communities and agencies.”
“We want to emphasize, once again, that our priority has always been, and will always remain, the safety of our students and our community.” the APD statement said. “This has never been about money. It is about securing the resources necessary to continue providing the high standard of safety and service that our schools deserve. We are simply asking OCPS to adequately fund SRO programs to ensure their sustainability. Proper funding is essential to maintaining these programs at the level our communities expect and deserve, preventing any need for alternative, less effective solutions in our schools.”
The Apopka Chief is an award-winning weekly newspaper serving the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923.
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