- February 6, 2025
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For Senior Deputy Jackie Mullins, her duties as a school resource officer haven't changed because of the Parkland school shooting.
Being aware and watching for any changes is part of her everyday work while among students at Creekside Middle School where she has been assigned for two years. She has been in the SRO program for roughly 16 years.
"We stay at a heightened sense of alert for the children we have to protect," Mullins said, adding that part of her motto is that when students "move, we move, when they switch classes, I'm out of my office. If they're out on campus, we're out on campus."
For Mullins and other SROs, such as Deputy Justin Lococo, an SRO at Spruce Creek, the job of keeping students safe goes to a deeper level. It's about forming relationships with students, especially those who are at-risk and struggling in school.
Lococo said he has an open door policy and tells students they can come see him any time if they need to talk. Mullins and Lococo both stated that while they want to provide security for students, they hope that students can come to them anytime.
"We're here for the students," Lococo said. "Our main mission is to keep everybody safe, whether that's coming to school or leaving school."
However, while Creekside has Mullins and Spruce Creek has Lococo, not all Volusia County schools have an SRO. The norm has been placing school resource officers in every Volusia public high school while middle and elementary schools may or may not have law enforcement. In Port Orange's 10 public schools, there are school resource officers in both the high schools. Law enforcement is present at middle and elementary schools in the morning and when classes are let out in the evening.
During the Tuesday, Feb. 20, city council meeting, Vice Mayor Scott Stiltner said that he wants to look at the cost of conducting a risk assessment from the city's side. He would also like to see what it would take to put municipal law enforcement officers in all schools.
"One thing that is evident is every time there's one of these incidents there are lessons to be learned and things that we can do to make our own protocols and responses more effective and efficient," Stiltner said.
At Atlantic High, Principal Stephen Hinson said the current safety procedures are being reviewed in addition to safety procedure manuals being resent to all staff. Hinson added that they are making sure there is adequate supervision provided between classes as well as requesting additional support from local law enforcement when needed.
There are also expectations that the school conduct several drills each year, including lockdowns, hazardous materials and bomb threats.
"The school resource officer and the administration coordinate together to support every situation that poses a threat to the safety and security of the students and staff," Hinson said, adding that his message to students is "to be proactive in reporting anything out of the ordinary, including but not limited to, social media posts. It is important that if students see something, say something.”
Volusia County School Board vice chairwoman, Linda Cuthbert said each school in the county is being evaluated, especially when it comes to the extended day programs. But the problem Cuthbert sees schools facing is how any needed changes, such as additional SROs, will be funded.
On top of this, Cuthbert is worried about the repercussions of House Bill 7069, a 274-page law passed last year that requires public schools to share construction and maintenance money with charter schools.
"If we want our schools to be more safe and secure get rid of that cap," Cuthbert said. "There's all kinds of new technology out there, but we can't afford it if we don't receive the money for it."
According to Cuthbert, if an SRO was placed at every campus it would cost more than $4 million.
"We're talking about protecting our community's most precious resource," Mayor don Burnette said. "And the emotional side of me says there's absolutely no cost too high to pay for that until of course we figure out what that cost is."
