Marco Island's police chief wants to make the city's schools safer, by having an officer in each of it's three schools every day. He's asking city council leaders for $300,000 in tax dollars to make that happen.
"It's very costly, but it's a commitment we need to make as a community," Schettino said Monday before making his case to council members.
Schettino wants officers in all three schools - Tommie Barfield Elementary, Marco Island Academy, and Marco Island Charter Middle School - from the time school begins until dismissal. Since the mass shooting in Parkland in February, he's already put that plan in place.
"The way we're doing that is, I reassigned personnel from our shifts," Schettino said. "I'm incurring overtime every day to have that."
But he said it's stretching his staff thin, and he wants to add three more officers to his staff of 34, at a cost of $300,000. Base salary for officers on Marco Island is $43,000. The remainder would for pay for benefits, equipment and training.
To parent Yvvette Benarroch, the idea of more officers at the city's schools is reassuring.
"I don't see why anybody would be against our children's safety," she said. "As a parent, there's no money that could buy a child's life."
Schettino will ask city leaders to approve the $300,000 for the 2019 fiscal year at Monday night's council meeting.
**UPDATE** -- The $300,000 to hire additional officers was approved by the Marco Island city council Monday night.
