CLAY COUNTY – After serving as the Clay County District Schools Chief of Police for nearly five years, Kenneth Wagner will return to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

It would be easy to assume Wagner, the first and final CCDS Chief of Police, looks upon the beginning of the end of his police department with a twinge of melancholy. Instead, he is focused on recollection and pride.

“I am demoted,” he said. “I am not upset.”

Wagner said he’s excited to return to CCSO.

“It is actually a great opportunity for me to return to where I originally started my career. We have a great sheriff. I will provide my knowledge regarding legal requirements to the sheriff’s office as the transition moves forward in the right direction,” he said.

He said he would be a deputy until he retired and earned his pension. Following retirement, he wants to be a bus driver. He foresees he will always have a passion for children and their safety.

Wagner reflected on “driving” the CCDS Police Department’s formation. After being hired in 2019, Wagner said he had five months to purchase 45 cars and hire 48 law enforcement officers.

For context, every school in Florida was required to have a School Resource Office on a long-term basis following the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz killed 17 students and three staff members.

In 2019, the school board voted 4-1 to stop paying CCSO for policing its schools. Sheriff Darryl Daniels told the Board of County Commission he needed to charge the school district $4.5 million to hire, equip and pay for 36 deputies, six relief deputies, four sergeants, one investigator and one training investigator to protect 42 county schools in 2019. The Green Cove Springs and Orange Park police departments have officers in schools within town limits.

The current budget for the CCDS Police Department is $4.8 million for 45 schools.

The school board decided to rehire the sheriff’s office on April 27 this year. This decision came after School Environment Safety Incident Reporting data was erroneously sent to the Florida Department of Education.

Additionally, some board members and parents were concerned about a possible conflict of interest, as the CCDS Police Department reports directly to the superintendent. Some were worried the school district could have a vested interest in minimizing incident reports. 

Board member Beth Clark the situation could be "dangerous" when the police chief reports to the school district. Because the district controls the officers on campus, it also controls the data and optics, Clark said. 

For School Board Member Erin Skipper, this was about delivering on a campaign promise she was elected to fulfill. During the school board meeting in November, she made the motion to begin negotiations with CCSO.

Skipper said her decision on the dais was spurred by CCDS Police’s underreporting, lack of transparency and chain of command issues.

“This was a move that was best for the schools and for keeping our students safe,” she said. “We are in the business of education. Not law enforcement.”

Wagner said the biggest challenge of CCDS Police was fighting misinformation and unsavory perceptions. CCDS police officers were unfairly compared to “mall cops.”

Wagner admitted some SESIR data during the 2021-2022 school year was inadvertently incorrect.

“If there is an incident on campus, there is a separate SESIR and crime report. SESIR data is sent to the Florida Department of Education. Crime reports are sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” Wagner explained.

Wagner acknowledges the misinputs for that school year but contends that CCDS Police has always submitted crime reports correctly. He denies that his department underreported incidents.

“It has been a great experience to serve. I will still be there in a supportive capacity,” he said.

Sheriff Michelle Cook said members of the school police department have the opportunity to move into CCSO. Her agency will work with school administrators to keep most in their current schools to maintain continuity.