California District to Form Security Team

After the Modesto Police Department cut the program providing school resource officers to Modesto City Schools, the district has voted to form its own eight-person security team.

Published: January 23, 2015Author: CS Staff

The Modesto City Schools Board unanimously passed a proposal Tuesday to form an eight-member security team.

Team members will be required to have school security officer state certification and training to handle firearms, although they will not carry guns. Each of the district’s seven high schools will have a security officer, and a supervisor will be stationed at the Elliott Alternative Education Center, the Modesto Bee reports.

The officers will be armed with batons, pepper spray and handcuffs. The security team replaces school resource officers provided by the police department. The program was cut by the Modesto Police Department in December due to low staffing, CBS Sacramento reports.

The new security team is expected to require $250,000 in start-up costs and up to $443,000 annually.

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