SCHOOL POLICE MERGES WITH PBSO

Palm Beach County school police vote indicates they want to merge with sheriff's office

ByAllison Ross and Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Updated: 5:32 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Posted: 10:47 a.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The union representing county police officers has published survey results that it says shows that a majority of Palm Beach County School Police Officers want to merge their department with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Sixty percent of school police officers who responded to a non-binding survey from the Police Benevolent Association, the county's police union, said they'd like to merge with the sheriff's office, according to the survey results published Wednesday on the PBA's website.

Only about 90 of the approximately 120 school police officers that are part of the union voted in the survey, which was sent to them a week and a half ago, said John Kazanjian, president of the county's police union.

The Police Benevolent Association represents the school police, sheriff's office and officers for numerous other agencies in the county.

School Board Member Karen Brill this year has been pushing the idea of contracting with the sheriff's office to provide school police to save money and help overcome the district's estimated $32 million deficit. A few officers and their family members have also taken to emailing board members recently, urging the merger.

A similar merger idea died last year after School Police Chief James Kelly gave a report to the district's budget advisory committee estimating that converting school police officers to sheriff's deputies would cost the district more in part because the top of the union pay scale for deputies was higher than the top of the scale for school officers. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw disputed Kelly's claims and quickly withdrew his offer to merge. Kelly said earlier this year he had not done an analysis this year but he expected the costs would still be higher to convert to the sheriff's office for the same reasons.

Kazanjian said the idea of merging school police with the sheriff's office is a "no-brainer" in his opinion.

"The pros outweigh the cons big time," Kazanjian said. "Once (school board members) see (the Sheriff's) proposal, the bang for the buck, it's common sense."

But Kelly on Wednesday continued to refute the idea that a merger was in the best interest of the district. "The district is best served by the delivery model it has now," he said.

School board members have not formally discussed the prospect of merging with the sheriff's office this year.

Sheriff's officials have said they have not been contacted by the school district this school year about the merger. The sheriff's office has said that, as with their policy for all mergers, the sheriff's office would not explore the issue unless the district directly contacted them requesting a merger.

Kelly is retiring in August. According to the union's website, officers voted 64 percent to 37 percent that they want the district to do a national search to find Kelly's replacement. The district recently did a national search to find a new superintendent but ended up hiring an internal candidate, Wayne Gent.

Officers also voted that if the district did hire an internal candidate to be the next police chief, the candidate they favored the most was 52-year-old Police Major James Cummings.


Find this article at:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sc...y-2237198.html

Gee, why would the majority of school police officers themselves, when polled by the PBA union, indicate that they would like to merge with PBSO?

Could it be that their salary would increase dramatically?
Could it be that their benefits would be better?
Could it be that they would have LOTS more opportunities for PROMOTIONS and again, lots more money?
Could it be that they would have opportunities for transferring out of the schools into the many divisions and units of the PBSO, from K-9 to Marine Enforcement to Detective Bureau, etc., etc.?
Could it be that there is lots of overtime work, including lots and lots of permit overtime?
Could it be that they would get new, take-home cars?

This vote is hardly surprising, and simply shows that these people know that being a PBSO deputy is better for them in many ways.

OF COURSE most of the school police officers would like to become PBSO deputies!!

And don't forget that according to the 2010 FDLE Agency Profiles, PBSO is the HIGHEST PAID Sheriff's Office in the state (even higher than Miami-Dade). To start with a higher salary than PBSO, they would have to join one of the PDs that pays even more than any Sheriff's Office.

So gee, why would those school police officers prefer to be with PBSO? They would have to be crazy to NOT prefer to come here!

Palm Beach County school police vote indicates they want to merge with sheriff's office

ByAllison Ross and Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Updated: 5:32 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Posted: 10:47 a.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The union representing county police officers has published survey results that it says shows that a majority of Palm Beach County School Police Officers want to merge their department with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Sixty percent of school police officers who responded to a non-binding survey from the Police Benevolent Association, the county's police union, said they'd like to merge with the sheriff's office, according to the survey results published Wednesday on the PBA's website.

Only about 90 of the approximately 120 school police officers that are part of the union voted in the survey, which was sent to them a week and a half ago, said John Kazanjian, president of the county's police union.

The Police Benevolent Association represents the school police, sheriff's office and officers for numerous other agencies in the county.

School Board Member Karen Brill this year has been pushing the idea of contracting with the sheriff's office to provide school police to save money and help overcome the district's estimated $32 million deficit. A few officers and their family members have also taken to emailing board members recently, urging the merger.

A similar merger idea died last year after School Police Chief James Kelly gave a report to the district's budget advisory committee estimating that converting school police officers to sheriff's deputies would cost the district more in part because the top of the union pay scale for deputies was higher than the top of the scale for school officers. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw disputed Kelly's claims and quickly withdrew his offer to merge. Kelly said earlier this year he had not done an analysis this year but he expected the costs would still be higher to convert to the sheriff's office for the same reasons.

Kazanjian said the idea of merging school police with the sheriff's office is a "no-brainer" in his opinion.

"The pros outweigh the cons big time," Kazanjian said. "Once (school board members) see (the Sheriff's) proposal, the bang for the buck, it's common sense."

But Kelly on Wednesday continued to refute the idea that a merger was in the best interest of the district. "The district is best served by the delivery model it has now," he said.

School board members have not formally discussed the prospect of merging with the sheriff's office this year.

Sheriff's officials have said they have not been contacted by the school district this school year about the merger. The sheriff's office has said that, as with their policy for all mergers, the sheriff's office would not explore the issue unless the district directly contacted them requesting a merger.

Kelly is retiring in August. According to the union's website, officers voted 64 percent to 37 percent that they want the district to do a national search to find Kelly's replacement. The district recently did a national search to find a new superintendent but ended up hiring an internal candidate, Wayne Gent.

Officers also voted that if the district did hire an internal candidate to be the next police chief, the candidate they favored the most was 52-year-old Police Major James Cummings.


Find this article at:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sc...y-2237198.html

The question is does PBSO deputies want School Police.

I say no. And you? I say no because mergers results in less details, OT, and permits.

Less promotion and detective opportunities. Not sure about that look at contract cities like BG (capt lieuts sargts), South Bay (lieuts sargts), Pahokee (lieuts sargts), Royal Palm (capt lieuts sargts det), Lake Park (capt sargts), and Lake Worth (capt lieuts sargts det). For each at the time of merger, they all had captains, lieutenants, and sergeants. Now look at what they have. Where did they go?

Less access to the wellness center.

Less equipment.

Less turn over of high milage vehicles.


So vote no to any other mergers.

I would love to get back into a school and be an SRD. Also I heard there is a ton of permits within the schools, I say yes.

Saying "no" to new mergers is akin to saying goodbye to jobs at the Sheriff's Office. Look at Broward County, most is annexed into one city or another and if it wasn't for mergers the Sheriff's law enforcement duties would be the jail and civil process.
Mergers open up advancement for transfers to new areas where promotions would be available. Take West Palm for instance and all the opportunities for overtime in that city. Boynton is another with lots of opportunity for overtime. Be open minded and think beyond the end of your nose and you'll realize the importance to mergers and thank the Sheriff for having the reputation where cities actually wanted to have us patrol their streets. I can think of a substantial number of lieutenants and sergeants promoted due to the growth in the Western communities..

Of course, what deputies want and what school police officers want has absolutely nothing at all to do with whether or not the school police will move to PBSO.

That decision is going to be made by the Sheriff and the School Board (and maybe the board will consult with Gent, as they should).

What you want, what I want, what Kaz wants is totally meaningless. Only what the Sheriff and School Board wants counts at all.

The Sheriff isn't going to take a poll of the rank and file, and neither is the School Board. Kaz's PBA poll is just for publicity, like any of the School Board decision makers are going to be swayed by anything other than the PRICE.

The time is now ! :cop:

Actually the time is NOW

See you next year, after the Sheriff gets his budget through this year.
Maybe next time there will be new board members.

Where was Kaz? and PBA.