Manatee County will not pay any additional costs for 34 new school resource officers.
- Manatee County says it won't pick up extra costs for SROs
- School district had proposed 70-30 split
- More SROs mandated after Parkland
During a sometimes heated debate Tuesday, the Manatee County County Commission voted 6-1 to not pick up any additional costs.
The Manatee County School District had proposed paying 70 percent of the cost for the SROs for the 2018-19 school year. That would leave the remaining 30 percent for the county.
County officials balked at that, saying the county will continue to split the cost with SROs already on the job.
The county currently pays about $900,000 to cover those costs. The additional 34 SRO's would have added another $760,000 to that tab, plus the cost of equipment.
The proposed added security came in wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February.
Following that, Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation requiring a law enforcement officer at every elementary and middle school schools and one SRO per 1,000 students at every state high school.