VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Officials with Volusia County Schools say they plan to request funding from the county to increase the law enforcement presence on some middle school campuses. 

The Volusia County School Board is asking county council members for funds to add seven school resource deputies and one school resource sergeant to select middle school campuses throughout the district.

Gina Lloyd, a former Volusia County teacher, says her youngest daughter is in eighth grade at Creekside Middle School, and safety is always on her mind.

“And she hasn’t had any specific incidents, but my middle daughter had some safety problems, I guess you could say," Lloyd said. "We had a student threaten to kill her. He got suspended for a week for that, but it terrified her."

According to district officials, the schools that are requesting additional school resource deputies currently only have school guardians present on campus without law enforcement powers. The schools that would be receiving the new school resource deputies include Creekside Middle School, Deltona Middle School, Galaxy Middle School, Heritage Middle School, Holly Hill Middle School, Silver Sands Middle School and Southwestern Middle School.

“The kids aren’t going to learn their ABCs and one-two-threes if they just don’t feel safe at school," Lloyd said. "And I think the resource officers do that. They can be there for the kids. They can set a climate of safety for the kids."

But not all parents think adding deputies is the only solution.

“History shows that’s not going to solve the problems that they have, which is the violence, the guns, the drugs which are already happening at the facilities where there are deputies,” Volusia County parent Greg Gimbert said.

He said suspension of the students who use violence will help alleviate the issue.

“The historical violence in schools is not new — it was there when I was there, it was there when my child was there, and it all happens because they don’t follow the rules they have now," Gimbert said. "When you suspend and then you expel the violent little predators in the school, these problems go away."

For Lloyd, though, having the deputies will create peace of mind.

“It’s just a necessary way to exercise precaution and keep the things we say are the worst-case scenario from happening in our school district," she said.

In a statement, Volusia County Schools said the additional school resource officers will be a benefit for schools:

“Volusia County Schools has school resource deputies at many middle and high schools. We have seen success in deterring and responding to incidents in these schools and are hopeful to continue partnering with our local law enforcement agencies to support safety in our schools and communities. Safety and security are of the highest priority to VCS and our schools, and this is one more measure that reinforces safety in order to allow high-quality learning to continue undisrupted every day.”

If the county council approves the request, the school resource officers will be assigned to these seven middle schools based on the number of times law enforcement was called to the campuses between Aug. 14 and Oct. 6:

• Creekside Middle - 36 Calls for service
• Deltona Middle - 41 Calls for service
• Galaxy Middle - 17 Calls for service
• Heritage Middle - 58 Calls for service
• Holly Hill School - 43 Calls for service
• Silver Sands Middle - 39 Calls for service
• Southwestern Middle - 23 Calls for service

The School Board will be presenting this request to the Volusia County Council at its Nov. 7 meeting. If approved, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and the Volusia County School Board will enter into a revised agreement to include the cost of the additional officers.