School Cops' Job: Driving Board Members, Guarding Political Meetings
The high-paid, high-benefits School Board cops have a lot of responsibilities that keep them from protecting kids.
Next time you wonder where your school taxes are going, check out the written duties of the Special Investigations Unit, which is the official title of these cops.
According to their job description, the SIU investigators not only spend beaucoup bucks guarding School Board members at their meetings, as I wrote about here. The Board members get almost-presidential security, according to the job description.
SIU "duties and major functions" (my underlining) include über-guarding the Board and other foolishness:
"Drive Board members around county when requested."
"Secure and search parking lot area of Board members & others attending meetings."
"Search areas where Board meetings are going to be held."
"Provide secure parking environment at political meetings for politicians."
"Pick up dignitaries/ politicians when assigned at airport."
"Pick up and deliver legal matters from School Board Attorney."
"Deliver new incident report forms to principals."
"Deliver Professional Standards Handbooks to all schools and sites."
These must be the highest paid couriers ever!
"Pick up and deliver witnesses for School Board attorney when requested."
This one makes for fair investigations! Isn't it somewhat intimidating to have a cop pick you up and drive you to a deposition?
And my favorite. This one has the school cops on the front line of protecting our kids. I wonder when and how many times the "officers" did this:
"Remove water guns filled with acid from students' back packs."
This tasks are among many others included in the job description on the school website…for now. Don't be surprised if they take it down after I post this.
Either the job description is loaded up with fantasies to justify their pay checks — something the school system is good at. Or they are really called upon to do these ridiculous tasks.
Why would anybody ever consider part of a cop's job to drive School Board members or guard cars at a political meeting?
I'm not making this stuff up.
21 Responses to "School Cops' Job: Driving Board Members, Guarding Political Meetings"
Sunrise Parent says:
Instead of guarding the School Board, they should be investigating them. They were delivering papers while law enforcement were catching Gallagher taking a bribe. They did such a good job of guarding the bus stop that one kids got her head kicked in. There are knifings and fights everyday. What are they doing?
January 31st, 2011 at 11:40 am
"The high-paid, high-benefits School Board cops . . . "
I would think that if one makes a statement such as this, it would be worthwhile to cite what that pay might be. Are SIU officers paid more than if they were working for BSO or the Fort Lauderdale Police Department? How do their salaries and benefits compare to other "school cops", say in Palm Beach County?
Moreover, anyone who has been involved with developing job dscriptions knows that not all of the tasks listed are equal in terms of priority or amount of time spent. In fact, often job descriptions include tasks which may never be performed, but assign responsibility if the need arises.
So, what percentage of the SIU officers' time is spent on the tasks you listed, such as picking up dignitaries at the airport? What kind of drain is this on SIU employees?
Finally, you make mock the task of "remove water guns filled with acid from students' back packs." Are you suggesting that the School Board should just leave this up to anyone who comes across this situation? Maybe a teacher or lunchroom worker? Might you not suspect that at least one SIU officer has some training in how to evaluate and deal with this, even if it is not an everyday occurrence, and that that is good planning?
The sad thing is that you surely could have obtained the answers to all these questions, but then you might not have had a rabble-rousing story.
S.O.B. says:
Floridan: do you think or believe that these "jobs" were written to enchance their $$$, or to justify even having them "on the job" as a position.
A thought "…are the SIU's trained for all of these hazardous tasks?" From evasive driving, to hazardous materiels disposal, are they State Certified as Police Officers…? Yes, I agree what is the payroll cost, and how does it compare to Dade or Palm Beach? matter of knowing, in the Cities that have their own PD Officers at the Schools compare costs
The idea that the SIU would respond to a hazardous material emergency or a student with acid is wrong. They aren't in the schools. I have worked with them. They are mainly in offices. I would call the fire department for hazardous materials, not SIU.
I personally don't think they are trained for much so they fill that link listing their responsibilities with everything.
They are nice enough officers. They are not at the top of anybody's list of law enforcement professionals, so maybe driving the School Board around is about all they can do.
Frank White says:
Wouldn't using county dollars to provide security "at political meetings for politicians" be illegal?
FROM BUDDY: If its not illegal, it is surely not a kosher use of tax money.
Walter C says:
The School System shouldn't have its own police force at all. Its a waste of money. The job should be contracted out to the city or county that gives them the best price & I really can't image any reason why they should exist at all.
Stephanie Kraft says:
In the 12 years I served on the Board, I never had any SIU drive me around the county, nor did I observe them driving any other Board member anywhere.
The only times I knew that they actively had a presence and maybe searched the premises was when we had contentious meetings, such as our boundary meetings, when feelings ran high and board members were threatened.
I agree with the above poster, sometimes job descriptions are written with things that people may be asked to do, not what they do on an every day basis.
What possible purpose is there to put all types of tasks on a job description that are never going to do be done?
Just to have somebody write those five pages was a tremendous waste of time. If they don't do those jobs — I have no doubt they don't do most of them — leave them off.
Don't make up a sheet of lies, trying to pretend they have more to do than they do.
It is more from the bureaucratic mindset of the school system and why parents hate dealing with them.
Water C: "The School System shouldn't have its own police force at all. Its a waste of money. The job should be contracted out to the city or county that gives them the best price & I really can't image any reason why they should exist at all."
How about if the School Board can do it cheaper themselves?
Daniel Simpson Day says:
January 31st, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Obviously Buddy, you've never created a job nor hired anybody in a corporate environment. Most of what's in the SIU job description is written down BECAUSE it's both a public record and a union job at that. Otherwise most of those jobs would fall under the corporate job description "other duties as assigned."
School Board Cop says:
February 1st, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Let's get the facts straight. These duties listed in our "newly" created job description were created by David Golt. It is all about his job justification. We have less than 18 officers on the force to protect all of the districts sites. Dade County and Palm Beach County have fully staffed and funded departments to handle their districts. Our officer's have always had the students and staff safety held as a priority. These priorities have been compromised by the poor leadership in the district. We serve and protect like all law enforcement officers. The public needs us and hates us at the same time. Come spend a day with us and then let's hear it. Don't tear us down like our administration is already trying to do. We are on your side!
We do everything our supervisors tell us to do. We do not defy verbal or written directives. We have families and bills like everyone else and need our jobs. These job descriptions and duties are not written by the S.I.U., Investigators. They are written and approved (or at least they should have been) by district administration. Everyone wants to blame the police officers out their trying to protect and serve. Just saying……….
FROM BUDDY: Thank you so much for your point of view. Please add anything else at Browardbeat.com at anytime.
InTheKnow says:
February 1st, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Many of the SIU officers bring years of experience to the District which greatly benefits both the students and employees. These are not just cops…they are Detectives, Sgt.s, Lt.s and Chiefs from other agencies who bring a wealth of knowledge with them. The District is fortunate to have such experienced personnel working for them. The latest issues and problems are directly related to the current Executive Director and his lack of knowledge when it comes to police work. The District hired an administrator when it chose DG and not an experienced police investigator. In addition DG has hired or attempted to hire completely unqualified candidates for openings at SIU. One individual failed to make the cut because of previous issues involving his conduct with minors while another somehow seemed to slipped through the cracks and was somehow selected over several candidates who's qualifications are undeniable.
CopsSupporter says:
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:55 pm
The job description you are referencing is 100% inaccurate and was solely written by new Director (David Golt) for the benefit of justifying his job. The same reason why he alone recently shut down the entire school district and County. He shut down the system without immediately informing his bosses nor his own staff; especially the Investigators. DG's agenda is to discredit the excellent staff he inherited and eventually hire his buddies from Pembroke Pines; some of which have shady backgrounds.
To cover up his incompetence, Mr. Golt micro manages, threatens to fire the staff and prevent Investigators from carrying out their assigned duties. As a result of his shenanigans, this man is going to single handedly "wipe out" SIU, incorporate his own police department, make himself the Chief and continue to run it in the ground. In the process, he is going to bring critical liabilities to the School District.
I cannot fathom how the School Board overlooked well-qualified applicants and hired this man. Perhaps he is related to someone that is protecting his job. Or, maybe SBBC got a special bonus to hire and bring him out of retirement. Mr. Nivens, why don't you use your contacts to investigate Mr. Golt and publish your findings?
By the way, all job descriptions are written and revised by the District's Compensation Department and approved by the School Board Members. You can obtain the REAL copy from browardschools.com.
Former Insider says:
For the record, these "Investigators" have never worked as detectives, lieutenants, or chiefs anywhere but possibly in their dreams.
Maybe if you want to put "Golden Boy" Kowalski in the Chief category since he was acting until Golt took over. Now Kowalski does nothing but babysit the fingerprinting department, which by the way, was run by a Black female until she was laid off – conveniently 19 months prior to Kowalski being placed there. Why is that significant? Because it was exactly one month past the time that she would have been eligible to be recalled according to the union contract, which SIU shits on at every turn. Some of the Investigators bad-mouthed and back-stabbed Joe Melita every chance they got. Now because Golt is making them account for their time and micro-managing their every move they are complaining and throwing him under the bus. Well, guys, you wanted a "sworn law enforcement officer" for a boss and you got one! Golt is a horrible manager who is trying to bend the rules to hire all of his buddies regardless of lack of qualifications, but that is a reflection of Jim Notter and Gracie Diaz too.
To school board cop: I guess you and your cohorts weren't thinking about the families and bills of the six poor women that SIU let go unjustly – yes, they all had families too – not to mention 10-20 years of seniority.
Buddy, half of the duties listed on the website are pure fantasy. There are a number of duties listed for which the SIU Investigators are uneducated, unqualified, and actually refused to be trained for because they were not offered extra money. In other words, duties that they have never and will never do because they are not adequately trained. Can you say liability? To be honest, those job duties were listed long before David Golt was hired last March and I can prove it.
SIU is a racist, sexist, department and has been rife with corruption since Joe Melita left. Minorities and females are disrespected, given all the crap work and generally treated like garbage. There is so much dissention that the employees are all turning on one another. As long as Golt and Kowalski continue to be a part of SIU, this will only continue to escalate.
Ms. D. says:
February 2nd, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Mr. Nevens, please use your sources to investigate Mr. Golt and find out how he got his job, who he knows, and how he made the decision to lay off six female employees with many years of seniority after one month as a BCSB employee?
I have heard complaints that Golt intimidates and threatens female members of his staff that they are going to be fired.
Was Golt ever reprimanded for the fiasco of a lockdown which happened in November? He did not consult with his School Safety and Violence Prevention Team, who are trained and certified in emergency management before or after this mismanaged mess. His arrogance put staff and students in harm's way by ordering all Investigators to leave their locations and report to Pines. A lockdown means lockdown, not well, let's unlock the doors so the Investigators can leave.
Golt refuses to meet with his Prevention Team, the five professionals who ARE out in their assigned (50+ each) schools every day, trying to run safety assessments and drills with the administration. No, Golt would rather they waste their time "wanding" the public at Board meetings than keeping children safe.
Recently, the SIU ignored the layoff list to hire a clerical person that was hand-picked by Mr. Golt, in defiance of the FOPE contract.
There is an non-sworn employee with a vehicle who shouldn't have one – nobody else in that job category has a take-home.
There is an Investigator who has not had a case or left his office in more than two years.
Golt overlooked much more qualified candidates for Investigator positions to hire his friends, candidates who were female and/or minorities, including a woman who had worked as an SIU Investigator and left on good terms. Just think of all the money that could have been saved by not having to train someone who never worked for the district.
As someone who was laid off in June by Mr. Golt in spite of the fact that I had more seniority than 20 other SIU staff members, including six Investigators, I would like to know which of the duties or major functions listed above would require one to be a sworn police officer, thus justifying my layoff to retain other (male) employees with less time?
To LEO:
You are exactly right. In an emergency, the first call is made to 911. Then the school calls SIU, the area office, etc.
Mr. Upset says:
Lets get the facts straight, to the disgruntled former employee. The females that were laid off
were all clerical for the exception of 1. The prevention team would have never been sent out to the lockdown searching for a possible bomb or armed perp. You are civilians! Yes you do have your place within the dept. remember your place! I am disgusted with all the trash talking thats going on. We are losing site of the real picture, the current director. Yes he has turned our dept upside down and killed the morale! he is trying to make a name for himself at our cost. He cant help himself its where he came from, a traditional law enforcement agency, We are not set up that way. our jobs are a lot more intricate, our duties require more than just a road cop. We are internal affairs investigators our #1 job is to protect our children and staff of the broward county school district. We investigate numerous cases on employees every year. We insure that our children are not being taught by criminals, we work our butts off for our school district. Yes, there is currently an issue that needs to be corrected and I'm sure it will be. We have an outstanding group of Investigators and support staff that work extremely well together and that should continue no matter who is in charge. By the way, dont knock our credentials! we are who we say we are, its in our files not our dreams! At the end of the day our issues are not about racism or gender dont use that excuse! its about management and lack of knowledge!! by the way I'm a minority!
Rodney King says:
Cant we all just get along
You took my comments stating the Investigators are not trained in certain areas personally. Too bad, it's the truth. There is little training offered, and there is no incentive, financial or otherwise, to take advantage of it. Your job duties are way beyond those of a road patrol officer, but there is really no need to pad your credentials with things that aren't true, we can check. When was the last time you "chased a perp?" Is that even in your job description?
Most of the Investigators are professional, competent, and hard-working. Notice I said most. You, sir, are an arrogant horse's ass.
"Remember my place?" Remind, me: where exactly is my place? Thank you for proving my point that SIU is racist, sexist, and generally hateful towards women and minorities.
Mr. Nivens, you are right-
As you stated, "This tasks are among many others included in the job description on the school website…for now. Don't be surprised if they take it down after I post this."
It was taken down the next day after your article.
Keep your ears/eyes open.
Oh yes, I noticed that the website has now removed the job description.
Mr. Nivens, who removed it and why?