The Manatee County School District is canceling its contract with a security company it hired to protect students.
Superintendent Rick Mills notified Sarasota Security Patrol it was canceling its agreement with the company, which was providing guards at the county's elementary schools.
The contract between the school district and the security company included a 30-day cancellation option.
The guards had been hired to work at the schools after a September school board vote. However, the oganization Citizens For Sunshine Inc. filed a lawsuit against the district last week, alleging a Sunshine Law violation during the process of selecting the Sarasota company.
The contract with the guards ends Oct. 31.
The district said they decided to add the extra security officers after parents expressed a need for it. After a lengthy period of meetings and discussions on the controversial topic, a $1 million per year contract was awarded to Sarasota Security Patrol, which provides armed security guards for businesses as well as handling repossessions, private investigations and managing parking lots.
But their were issues right away - some about the cost, others about the security company itself.
Two school board members Bob Gause and Dave Miner voted against the proposal. Miner expressed concerns about Sarasota Security Patrol owner Chad Ritchie's 1996 arrest for impersonating a law enforcement owner.
Miner said the entire ordeal was a complicated situation.