A lieutenant with the Clay County Sheriff's Office has been selected to be the first-ever police chief of the Clay County School District's police force, according to an announcement made Tuesday.
Lt. Kenneth Wagner has worked with the Sheriff's Office for over 20 years and has been selected to lead the school district's new police force in an effort to protect students and faculty.
The decision comes weeks after the Clay County School Board voted to create its own police department on Feb. 7. The decision was made in an effort to promote safety and security in an affordable way during the 2019-2020 school year.
The decision to have their own police force resulted from 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.
After considering multiple options, the Clay County School Board voted to create their police force, saying continuing to utilize the Clay County Sheriff's Office would be too expensive.
The district plans to have the police department in place for the start of the 2020 school year.
Clay County would join 15 other school districts in Florida with their own police department.
As for schools in Green Cove Springs and Orange Park, their respective police departments will continue to serve those schools through an inter-local agreement.
