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Clay County Schools Superintendent clarifies decision to create police force

In a post to Facebook on Monday, Davis said, "Ultimately, costs cannot be ignored when the school board considers the use of taxpayer dollars and other state revenue."

Clay County Superintendent of Schools Addison Davis clarified the school board's decision to create its own police department, saying it would be too expensive to continue using the Clay County Sheriff's Office.

In a post to Facebook on Monday, Davis said, "Ultimately, costs cannot be ignored when the school board considers the use of taxpayer dollars and other state revenue."

The superintendent said out of five possible options to promote affordable safety and security in Clay County schools, the Sheriff's Office was included in three.

The board ultimately chose to go with Option B, which passed 4-1 and called for the elimination of Clay County deputies 

RELATED: Clay County school to get own police force, Sheriff says it was not 'thought through'

Davis said the decision meets statutory guidelines while remaining the most affordable option.

Davis said Option B places a School Resource Officer in every school. 

Davis also mentioned that he would still like to work with local law enforcement going forward to ensure the safety of students and faculty.

"I look forward to continuing our partnership with all local law enforcement agencies and will continue to keep the community informed," he said.

The decision was the result of a mandate that passed after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The mandate called for increased security in Florida schools.

Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels said his department would support the school, but alluded to the fact that he felt like they hadn't thought through every aspect of creating a district police department. 

“If you have all of these people, who’s going to train them?" Daniels said. "You have a police department that just stood up with no one to train them because the police department doesn’t exist to be in a training capacity."  

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