03-17-2008, 02:23 AM
March 11, 2008
As reported recently in the media, officers of Miami Dade Public Schools Police Department voted Saturday, March 8th to hold an official department wide vote of No Confidence in Chief of Police, Gerald Darling. Frustration over contract issues, the mishandling of high profile cases such as the Northwestern fiasco and lack of officer support, both during and after the recent incident at Edison Senior High resulted in approximately 75% of members voting at Saturday’s meeting, deciding in favor of the moving forward with a “Vote of No Confidence”.
Pay continues to be a source of discontentment for our officers. As pointed out by the media in September of 2006, the City of Miami was 36th out of 42 agencies in South Florida with starting officers being paid approximately $37,775.00. Two years later, our starting officers are still being paid $35,838.00 – well below surrounding agencies. This has made it extremely difficult for our department to retain qualified officers to ensure the safety of the children of Miami Dade County Public Schools.
Chief Gerald Darling is considered to be an absentee Chief who does not have any direct communications with the officers of the Department. He has not represented them before the media or the School Board with issues of salaries, overtime, critical incidents, under staffing, etc..
Superintendent Rudy Crew’s statement to NBC6 posted on March 8, 2008, “Chief Gerald Darling’s leadership has brought positive change for Miami-Dade County Public Schools Students”, further indicates to us he is more of a school administrator then the Chief of Police. The reduction in crime and student arrest is a direct reflection on the officers of the department, not the Chief.
Although lower crime and arrest rates led to assurances by Chief Darling that negotiations would go smoothly for officers, we were disturbed to hear that the School Board was prepared to offer only 2.6% or a total of $344,000.00 due to budget constraints while at the same time approving $1.4 million in administrative bonuses this year and earmarking an additional $1.4 million in bonuses for the 2008-2009 school year.
Parents can be assured that the scaling back of our police force will indeed have an impact on the safety of our schools. Our officers are uniquely equipped to deal with juveniles and have extensive training in school crisis situations which make them invaluable assets to our school system.
Howard Giraldo-President
As reported recently in the media, officers of Miami Dade Public Schools Police Department voted Saturday, March 8th to hold an official department wide vote of No Confidence in Chief of Police, Gerald Darling. Frustration over contract issues, the mishandling of high profile cases such as the Northwestern fiasco and lack of officer support, both during and after the recent incident at Edison Senior High resulted in approximately 75% of members voting at Saturday’s meeting, deciding in favor of the moving forward with a “Vote of No Confidence”.
Pay continues to be a source of discontentment for our officers. As pointed out by the media in September of 2006, the City of Miami was 36th out of 42 agencies in South Florida with starting officers being paid approximately $37,775.00. Two years later, our starting officers are still being paid $35,838.00 – well below surrounding agencies. This has made it extremely difficult for our department to retain qualified officers to ensure the safety of the children of Miami Dade County Public Schools.
Chief Gerald Darling is considered to be an absentee Chief who does not have any direct communications with the officers of the Department. He has not represented them before the media or the School Board with issues of salaries, overtime, critical incidents, under staffing, etc..
Superintendent Rudy Crew’s statement to NBC6 posted on March 8, 2008, “Chief Gerald Darling’s leadership has brought positive change for Miami-Dade County Public Schools Students”, further indicates to us he is more of a school administrator then the Chief of Police. The reduction in crime and student arrest is a direct reflection on the officers of the department, not the Chief.
Although lower crime and arrest rates led to assurances by Chief Darling that negotiations would go smoothly for officers, we were disturbed to hear that the School Board was prepared to offer only 2.6% or a total of $344,000.00 due to budget constraints while at the same time approving $1.4 million in administrative bonuses this year and earmarking an additional $1.4 million in bonuses for the 2008-2009 school year.
Parents can be assured that the scaling back of our police force will indeed have an impact on the safety of our schools. Our officers are uniquely equipped to deal with juveniles and have extensive training in school crisis situations which make them invaluable assets to our school system.
Howard Giraldo-President