Clay County Schools announces police chief recommendation for new district police department

Jacksonville, FL — With Clay County Schools working to establish its own internal district police department, Superintendent Addison Davis has named his recommendation to serve as the inaugural police chief.

Kenneth Wagner has been nominated for the job. Davis say he comes with over 20 years of experience with the Clay County Sheriff's Office in a variety of roles.

"This individual [Wagner] has held multiple positions in law enforcement, from patrol, sergeant, lieutenant, internal affairs, training unit commander, mobile field force commander, and also a detective. This individual [Wagner] brings over 1400 hours of training in law enforcement, that range from homicide, FEMA incident command, crisis management, de-escalation, internal affairs, emergency response, mental health first aid, the list continues," says Davis.

Wagner says he's humbled to be selected for the role and personally understands the importance of keeping Clay County schools safe.

"My daily life, I had kids that graduated from Clay district schools and who have continued on with their education, so it's very important to me that their safety and security of each of our students is well-balanced," says Wagner.

Wagner says he plans to hit the ground running in his new role, including ordering the necessary equipment and establishing rigorous training for the force.

"I am firmly committed to being fiscally responsible in my budget requests and maintaining great customer service. Customer service is paramount in continuing community partnership initiatives. My passion is serving this community with integrity and zeal. After all, your police department will be vigilant, responsive to always being committed to protecting tomorrow's leaders," says Wagner.

As part of Tuesday's police chief announcement, Davis did also announce an adviser to help bring this police force together--former Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler.

"Mr. Rick Beseler was the sheriff for 12 years in Clay County and recently had a retirement. We had to bring him back, because he can dedicate his time and energy to creating great consistency between all agencies and creating beautiful relationships. This individual has over 42 years of law enforcement experience and will stand and lock arms with us and stand beside us, as we stand this police department up..." says Davis.

While the Clay County School Board approved this new district police force, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement does still need to sign off, so the police department can be an accredited law enforcement agency.

Davis says they're hoping to have this district police department up and running before September 30th. That's when the contract with the Clay County Sheriff's Office expires for the junior high schools and high schools.

While the school district is moving away from the sheriff's office, the district will continue to partner with the Green Cove Springs Police Department and the Orange Park Police Department. See how the schools would be divided up, by clicking HERE.

WATCH: CLAY COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT ADDISON DAVIS RECOMMENDS POLICE CHIEF FOR NEW DISTRICT POLICE DEPARTMENT