Okaloosa County School District officials said Monday they have set aside $1.6 million in case the county asks the district to pay more for school resource officers, and warned that the figure could climb to $4.4 million if the county ends its share of the program.

• The discussion came during their morning budget workshop, less than a week after county commissioners debated whether to keep funding half of the SRO program. During their July 21 workshop, commissioners voted 4-1 to hold the property tax millage rate steady after Chairman Trey Goodwin’s motion to cut the county’s SRO funding and lower the rate failed for lack of a second.

Chief Financial Officer Julie Perry told the board she built $1.6 million into the proposed budget as a potential need for the SRO contract. She said she reached the figure by taking the cost of the contract, subtracting Safe Schools funding and dividing the remainder in half, reflecting what the district would owe if the county treated Safe Schools money as separate and asked the district to cover half of the rest.

The full contract costs about $8.8 million in fiscal year 2026-27, split into two halves of roughly $4.4 million. The district covers its half with $2.7 million in state Safe Schools categorical funding, $1.5 million from its own operating budget and $200,000 from charter schools. The county pays the other half.

Much of the discussion centered on the Safe Schools funding, which commissioners cited on July 21 when suggesting the district’s share of the SRO program cost had fallen below half. Perry said that argument rests on a misunderstanding of how the money works.

• “I think there’s a misconception that Safe Schools is just extra money, a grant, that kind of thing, and it’s not,” Perry said.

She traced the funding to 2018, when the state finalized the school budget and then revised it after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Rather than adding money, Perry said, the state reduced the district’s base student allocation and shifted those dollars into categorical funds set aside for safe schools and mental health.

“So the money was never extra,” Perry said, adding that the district would have had more operating money had it never been pulled out. She confirmed the Safe Schools allocation has not increased in recent years even as the cost of the SRO contract has climbed.

Board Member Brett Hinely restated the point during the meeting.

“It’s not a grant. It wasn’t additional money to us,” Hinely said. “It just says, ‘You will spend it this way.'”

Board Member Dr. Lamar White asked Perry and Superintendent Marcus Chambers what the $1.6 million represented and whether it could grow. Chambers said the set-aside reflected one possible outcome and that more recent developments could push it higher.

If the county eliminated its contribution entirely, the district would have to cover the county’s full share of about $4.4 million, Perry confirmed. The district has already set aside $1.6 million of that amount in its proposed budget, leaving roughly $2.8 million in additional, unbudgeted cost.

• In that scenario, the district’s cost for the contract from its operating budget alone would rise to about $5.8 million, on top of its Safe Schools allocation, Perry confirmed. The district currently pays $1.5 million from operating funds toward the contract.

Even as they prepared for that possibility, board members repeatedly credited the county for its role in the program. White recalled former Sheriff Larry Ashley telling the board that students in the county’s schools are Okaloosa County citizens who deserve to be protected.

“And that was his position, and thankfully it’s been the county’s position,” White said. “We’ve had a good partnership there.”

Chambers said the county’s decision to enter a 50/50 split allowed the district to place officers in every school, with two in each high school. He called SROs one of the most critical layers of school safety and said other layers are funded largely through capital dollars.

• “Could not be more grateful for the partnership that we’ve had, and hopefully for the partnership that we will continue,” Chambers said. He said he has already spoken with County Administrator John Hofstad and expects those conversations to continue.

Vice Chairman Parker Destin said he hoped the county would keep the program in its budget.

“I hope that the county commission does their political calculus on whether or not they wanna continue having the defense of school children as a part of their budgetary discussions,” Destin said. He added that the protection of children is “the last place the general public wants to find us” balancing a budget.

Hinely volunteered to represent the board in any talks with the county.

“If the board needs a person to step up and have this conversation just to represent the board, I’ll gladly volunteer,” Hinely said.