OCPS, Winter Garden agree on payment for prior services

WINTER GARDEN  A discrepancy about security payments to municipal police departments from Orange County Public Schools has led to the end of Winter Garden Police Department providing officers for local public school security.

From the start of the 2015-16 school year, Orange County Sheriff’s Office personnel have been covering Winter Garden elementary and middle schools. OCSO already has been monitoring West Orange High School based on a similar circumstance, OCPS General Counsel Woody Rodriguez said.

“I think about three years ago, after Sandy Hook, the police chiefs for the different municipalities had gotten together and said, ‘Hey, we know that you all need more protection in your schools … but we feel as if we’re not getting paid the equivalent of what other jurisdictions are getting paid,’” he said.

Winter Garden City Manager Mike Bollhoefer said WGPD Chief George Brennan had led the group of police chiefs negotiating for increased pay from OCPS. Ocoee and Maitland were in a similar situation and also did not receive payment for the 2014-15 year on time, Bollhoefer said.

“We had provided the officers for a whole year in good faith, but they weren’t willing to pay it,” he said. “During their research, (the chiefs) realized Seminole County’s school system pays a larger reimbursement rate, and so does Osceola County. I think the intention of our police department was to get a fair rate, where OCPS would pay 50% of the costs, and the police would pay 50% of the costs.”

The two sides reached an agreement in late September on a contract to legally permit payment of the $83,000 OCPS owed WGPD for 2014-15, Rodriguez said.

But the split for this school year occurred not long before classes began.

Bollhoefer said amid negotiations, Winter Garden officials sent a message the Friday before schools opened that they would not continue providing officers if OCPS would not pay for the prior year.

“However, within a couple hours of sending that email to them, we called them and backed off that position, saying we would go ahead and put them in the schools,” he said. “However, by that time, they had already gone and contracted with the sheriff’s department.”

Rodriguez said this was due to a working relationship between OCPS and OCSO.

“OCPS concluded that the Sheriff’s Office was more than an adequate replacement,” he said. “Since then, the city of Winter Garden manager has offered to provide police services for the three elementary schools and the two middle schools but not the high school. OCPS is very satisfied with the level of service provided by the Sheriff’s Office and has no current plans to seek those services from the city of Winter Garden.”

Rodriguez also said OCPS had increased payments each of the prior three years, including 25% before last year’s contract. Moreover, no other municipality official had suggested officers would not report for security duty if payments were not secured, he said. Payment situations with Ocoee and Maitland both have been rectified, he said.

“OCPS continues to make the safety of our students a top priority, and when that safety was compromised by the actions of the city manager, OCPS moved quickly to secure adequate protections and safeguards,” Rodriguez said. “We are fortunate to have a great partner in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that was able to step up and provide those services on short notice.”

Bollhoefer said the city would still be willing to help OCPS keep children safe in other ways.

“We’ve worked out all the differences now,” he said. “We will work closely with the sheriff’s department and OCPS to ensure the safety of our children.”

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].