Volusia County Schools to add 7 new resource deputies

DELAND, Fla. - The Volusia County School Board voted tonight to hire seven more school resource deputies for schools that don't have them.

Earlier this year, a 10-year-old girl was caught bringing a knife to school. In another incident, a student was caught with a fake gun.

"I think there are definitely a lot of problems with violence that are happening in all of our schools right now, so whatever the district needs to do to try and help that is great," said Heidi Kellogg, a Volusia County parent.

The seven schools without deputies have school guardians protecting them now.

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"Prior to the pandemic, we had them in our schools, and they were a part of the fabric of our school and keeping our students safe," said Ruben Colon, a school board member.

The district says it will pay deputies about $90 an hour, which would cost more than $500,000 over 100 school days. They would start at the beginning of 2024.

In November, the Volusia County Board of Commissioners denied the school district's request to foot some of the bill. The district hopes the county will be able to help more next year.

"Budget season does come around every year, so we are confident that it will be restored back to the budget, as I believe it is important for all of our community that our students are safe," Colon said.

Either way, some parents told FOX 35 it’s worth the money.

"I don’t think you can really put a price on kids being safe," Kellogg said.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the board also voted to allow metal detectors to be used in all schools.