Board Approves Budget Deal Between Sheriff and Schools

An agreement between Calvert County’s Sheriff’s Office and Public Schools has obtained the approval it needed to go forward.

During their June 28 meeting, the Calvert County Commissioners unanimously approved a personnel/budgeting agreement between the two entities that will support Sheriff Mike Evans’ [R] plan to assign a deputy to work in each of the county’s four high schools.

In order to fund the proposal, the commissioners had to OK a transfer of $100,000 from the Calvert County Public Schools’ (CCPS) fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget to the sheriff’s office’s budget. The proposal was legally presented during a public hearing.

“It is and has been my intention to have a deputy working in each of our high schools to establish a healthy relationship between law enforcement and the students, provide mentoring to the students, assist in teaching specific classes and be an ever-ready presence for the safety of those high school students,” Evans stated.

Evans first proposed assigning deputies to the public high schools during his first full year in office—2003. The sheriff’s proposal, however, was quietly dismissed by the Calvert Board of Education. What was offered to CCPS required no funding from the school system.

Evans told the commissioners he has been working with the Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jack Smith to come up with a plan to assign deputies to the high schools.

The four deputies will be an addition to the CCPS’ law enforcement detail, which includes two liaison officers. The high schools also have safety advocates on site. While many of the safety advocates have law enforcement experience, they do not have the authority of sworn officers,

“Pursuant to this agreement, Dr. Smith has budgeted $100,000 within his budget for the first year of the agreement, stated Evans in a memo to the commissioners, who explained CCPS “will be bearing the cost of one of the deputies. In years moving forward this office will provide Dr. Smith an exact cost so he can fund the position precisely during future years.

Commissioner Pat Nutter [R], a retired sheriff’s office lieutenant, asked about the prototype deputy to be assigned to a high school.

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