UPDATE: The Pasco-Hernando State College board of trustees approved the new agreement at its meeting Tuesday night, finalizing the deal. “While it took time to work through details, we feel this agreement is in the best interests of everyone concerned,” said PHSC board chair Len Johnson, in a release.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office may have finally settled its months-long dispute with Pasco-Hernando State College after the two groups came to terms on a new agreement that will give Sheriff Chris Nocco more say on who will teach at the school’s Law Enforcement and Corrections Academy.
The agreement still has to be approved by the PHSC board of trustees, which is meeting Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.
“The Pasco Sheriff’s Office could not be more pleased with this contract, and more importantly, the new level of partnership we have established with PHSC,” Nocco said, in a release. “As the needs and demands for law enforcement continuously evolve, this academy and regional training center will allow us to continue to develop our members and new law enforcement officers to professionally address the challenges they will face.”
The new agreement about the academy, which is hosted at PHSC’s East Campus location in Dade City, was signed by Nocco Aug. 18. It gives Nocco the power to appoint an academy director, who will actually be a member of his department. That director will then allow Nocco to play a more direct role in selecting academy instructors, something that has been a sticking point between the sheriff’s office and the college over recent months.
“We are pleased to have forced a clear and mutually beneficial agreement with the Pasco County Sheriff,” PHSC president Katherine Johnson said, in a release. “The college and the sheriff’s office have enjoyed a positive and collaborative relationship for decades. With this agreement in place, we look forward to continuing and enhancing our relationships with the sheriff’s office and all other law enforcement agencies PHSC serves.”
Updated 8/26 at 6:13 p.m., to include voting results of PHSC board of trustees.
