Let the Marion County School Board know that you do NOT want the Sheriff’s Office taking over security in the schools
The Marion County School Board is asking the community for input with regard to a proposal from Sheriff Billy Woods to take over school security. The link to the School Board’s survey is below. Please complete the survey prior to the Friday, December 2nd deadline. The School Board will review the results of the survey and host a workshop on December 15th when they may vote.
You must complete the survey by Friday, December 2, 2022
The survey asks for advantages and disadvantages. The Marion County Democratic Party is opposed to the proposal and does not see advantages. The currently structured Safe Schools Department under Dennis McFatten is working. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office needs no more control in our schools. However, there are several disadvantages to the proposal. The Sheriff’s Office has different guidelines for responding and arresting. A take-over likely will result in more arrests. The currently structured Safe Schools Department knows the students best and knows how to prevent and manage issues without arrests.
Attached are news articles about the proposal. Please note that It is the intention of Sheriff Woods to take the employees of the Safe Schools Department and make them fully sworn deputy sheriffs with full arrest powers at School Board meetings and any other function that the School Board deems necessary.
You will see in the articles that Dennis McFatten, the Director of Safe Schools, is opposed to the idea and sees the Sheriff’s Office’s role as different than the Safe Schools Department’s role, which focuses more on preventive measures. Marion County School Board Chair, Eric Cummings, also is opposed to the proposal and has expressed concern about giving away total authority and losing a system with checks and balances.
Sheriff proposes absorbing school district’s safe school department – Ocala Gazette <— More reading on this