Horizon Academy to get an additional deputy on campus

File photo: Authorities deemed there to be no threat at Horizon Academy after a false 911 call was made reporting an active shooter on Tuesday. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Horizon Academy at Marion Oaks will now have two deputies stationed on campus thanks to an amendment of the contract between the school district and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

There will now be 40 school resource officers from MCSO across 33 of Marion County’s public elementary, middle and high schools. Previously, Horizon Academy only had one SRO on campus.

The school joins the other five middle and high schools with two deputies stationed on campus: Belleview High School, Forest High School, Lake Weir Middle School, Lake Weir High School and North Marion Middle School.

The contract between MCSO and the Marion County School Board was agreed on in 2022 and set to last for three years until the 2024-25 school year. In the first school year of the agreement, every SRO was slated to be paid a $60,000 salary.

In the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, the SROs receive an increased pay of $75,000 per year.

Now that MCSO is providing 40 deputies to serve as SROs, the total cost for paying their salaries is $9 million. The school district reimburses MCSO for the cost of their salaries through monthly payments of $250,000 per month.

The contracts only require the SROs to be stationed on campus during regular school hours, for a maximum of eight hours a day. If the school is having an event after-hours that the principal deems law enforcement should be present for, the principal would have to make a request in advance for a special detail and pay MCSO $65.

The school board also has similar contracts with the Ocala Police Department and the Belleview Police Department to provide SROs for schools. OPD receives $4,635,188 for the three-year agreement to provide 18 SROs for 16 schools. BPD receives $205,384 for the three-year agreement to provide one SRO for Belleview Elementary School.