Deputy’s Placement at School Delayed

A Ventura County sheriff’s deputy will not be stationed as planned at Moorpark High School when students return on Sept. 8 because authorities are still waiting for a federal grant to pay for the extra security measure, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Justice has yet to approve a $125,000 grant that will be paid out over three years to fund an on-campus deputy, said Sheriff’s Deputy Julie Smith.

While the campus cop received approval from the Moorpark Unified School District and the city in June, the Sheriff’s Department isn’t allowed to assign a deputy to the detail until funding is acquired, Smith said.

“We’re hoping to hear from them any day now because we’ve had the position advertised for a while now,” she said. “We were hoping to hear this week because everything’s kind of on hold.”

Smith said that the deputy could begin work on campus shortly after the grant is approved.

The idea for the campus officer was proposed earlier this summer when former Moorpark Rotary Club President Steve Sill pledged $10,000 from the community service organization to help fund the high school deputy.

The school district, meanwhile, has shored up a grant through the state attorney general’s office and state Department of Education to pay for its share, roughly 40%, of the deputy’s $114,000 salary, said Susanne Smith-Stein, district coordinator.