Marion County school leaders approve plan for more school resource officers

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Marion County Public Schools approved a new deal Tuesday to nearly triple the number of school resource officers.

The district plans to place 56 school resource officers on campus beginning next month. That’s up from 18 last year.

The change will cost just under $4 million.

The district is facing new requirements after the Parkland school shooting, but also had its own shooting at Forest High School in April.

"This will be the first year, though, that we have school resource officers, armed school resource officers, at elementary schools,” said school board member Kevin Christian.

The school board still needs to figure out a way to pay for about $1.5 million of the costs to add the officers.

Cox Media Group