Look what was in County Commissioners and school board public records/mail

[Good Will Hunting]

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,


I am so disappointed in our current Sheriff, Tom Knight. His lack of vision and his lack of concern for the children of Sarasota County has come full circle. I write this as a former Lieutenant, who worked under four different Sheriff's during my tenure. I loved my job and my personnel record reflects that fact. I was also a School Resource Officer that worked in the elementary, middle and high school settings. I know the impact that the School Resource Officer Program has on the students of Sarasota County. I’d like to start by thanking Venice Chief Tom Mattmuller for having some vision and concern for the students in his jurisdiction.

Sheriff Knight inherited a nationally recognized SRO program of 35 officers that was started under Sheriff Jim Hardcastle, grown by Sheriff Geoff Monge, taken to the nationally recognized level by Sheriff William “Bill” Balkwill and continued under Sheriff Knight by Lieutenant Tim Enos, until the program was dismantled. We covered all the schools in Sarasota County at the middle and high school levels and had one officer for every two elementary schools. Sarasota Police Department was kind enough to offer elementary officers, Venice Police Department supplied an officer to work with a deputy at Venice High School and North Port Police added officers at each level. All of the agencies worked together and trained together. Our communication with one another was unified. The commitment to building relationships with our youth was unparalleled. The concept was tried and true, based on a simple triad approach. We Teach, Counsel and Mentor. In that, we also protected our students and built trust between the youth and police. We coached sports teams at the schools, we chaperoned trips, we sponsored clubs, we had after school programs we taught. We were educated by the Florida Attorney General’s Office, The Florida School Resource Officers Association, the National Association of School Resource Officers and the School Safety Advocacy Council. They set standards and guidelines for training and working with our youth, teachers and administrators. We went to active school shooter training and we taught it here in our schools as well.

Sheriff Knight dismantled that program and whittled it down to 9 deputies that would work in the unincorporated middle and high schools. He told the other municipalities that the schools in their cities were their responsibility. Evidently, the Sheriff had not ever heard of continuity of command and control. The Sheriff advised everyone that this decision was simply a matter of budget. But was it? I beg to differ. It was solely a matter of his priorities. He wanted a daytime and evening tactical units that he could direct to matters he wanted addressed. I take nothing away from the officers in those units, they do a great job. However; for the Sheriff to say it is a matter of budget, it just doesn't wash when you have a $90 plus million-dollar budget. Since 2003, I have been teaching thousands of officers and school administrators across the United States about school shootings and how to prepare and preempt those attacks. It is my passion and has been for years.

Recently, Sheriff Knight has been vocal saying we have to do something, but I'm not paying for it. Essentially saying it's not my problem. Well Tom, it is your problem. You had a program in place, but your lack of vision and your ego put our youth at risk. Now you conspire and trash talk people who want our children protected. You want School Marshals that have no training in working in a school environment. There will be no continuity from school to school.
You have some SRO's in a couple high schools and middle schools, but you won't put them in all of the schools? You had a contract with the Sarasota County School Board that was a living, working document that set the standard nationwide. This contract had been in place since the 1980's. Agencies from across the United States use to send officers to our agency to observe our nationally recognized program. All you had to do was go along for the ride, take credit for such an outstanding program and all the benefits of our officers working with our youth to build better police and community relationships.

It is my belief that the parents of our current students need to be at every Sarasota County School Board meeting, Sarasota County Commission meeting and every Sheriff's Advisory Board meeting. You should demand only the best for your children. You should demand continuity of security throughout every elementary to every high school. To think or say, it can't or won't happen here is simply a statement of ignorance. The Sheriff, the number one law enforcement officer in Sarasota County is supposed to set the standard, not dismantle it. There is a certain decorum that should be followed by the Sheriff, not one acting like some middle school bully texting derogatory things about other elected officials.

Sarasota County is not immune to criminal behavior or terrorist events. Remember
9-11. We had terrorists training in our county. Anything can happen at any time. We must be prepared and we must make an effort to preempt future events. Tom, your thought process is flawed. FIX IT! Perhaps it is time to start looking for a Sheriff that values the youth of this community and is willing to put forth a good faith effort to protect them in the one place they spend more time than any place, except for their own homes.

I included all of you in this email as you are decision makers, elected officials within our community. I pose this question to each of you. Is it ok to spend millions on Benderson Park with the hope it will return some value after all the bills are paid? What if we put that type of effort into protecting our children at our schools? Perhaps we could rise back to the level we were once at? Maybe some of those children could grow into people that can create positive change within this world of ours. It is my belief that we own them the opportunity to reach their potential. All I am asking of each of you is to put away your differences and act on behalf of those who can’t act for themselves, our children.

Respectfully,


John F. Kost

[Unregistered]

While employed by the Sarasota Sheriff's Office, John Kost was granted a top secret
security clearance by the FBI to work with the anti-terrorism task force.
.
While employed by the Sarasota Sheriff's Office, Tom Knight requested
and was subsequently denied a security clearance by the FBI.
.
You be the judge of integrity and trustworthiness - or lack therof.

[Unregistered]

The times change and we have progressed or digressed. Whichever you feel. One thing is clear. Sarasota County School Board Police Department will now have this challenge. I am sure the Sheriff's Office will back them just as any other LE. agency. I think you would make a great Police Chief hint hint. Just the same you made some great point but every SHERIFF has their way of doing things.

[Unregistered]

Good job! This is one of the best letters i ever see.

[Unregistered]

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[Unregistered]

It turns out interesting, but it doesn't seem that the first thing to concentrate on is the learning itself. Because the faster you do all these tasks, the more free time you have. I mostly always use https://assignmentbro.com/us/assignment-writing-service for this which has helped me with this many times already. So you can use it and not thank it, it's a very great thing, especially for students.

The above post and the one above it posted 3 minutes prior have nothing to do with this thread and seemingly were written by one who (a) struggles with the English language and composition and (b) has no problem posting SPAM.