The Citrus County School District will now have a new point of contact for all district threat assessments and state required reporting. In June, the Citrus County School Board approved the new Threat Management Supervisor position and immediately started looking for a qualified applicant.
“We left the position open to sworn and non-sworn applicants because it gave us more options,” says School District Police Chief, Dave Vincent. “I was looking for someone who had the background and knowledge of safety, but also someone who could exercise a good sense of judgment, and who could objectively and thoroughly look at each situation. Rachel hit all the marks.”
Rachel Montgomery has been in law enforcement for 16 years and is currently a sergeant who heads the Behavioral Health Unit at the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. Her first day with the Citrus County School District will be Monday, August 21st.
When introducing Rachel at Tuesday’s school board meeting, Vincent talked about why Rachel stood out among other applicants. “Her background has always been dedicated to advocacy for people which I think is what our board stands for when it comes to our students.”
In addition to being the point of contact for all district threat assessments, Rachel will also provide training and guidance on the New Florida Model Threat Management process for all threat assessment team members in the district. She will also establish the District Level Threat Management Team which will provide oversight on elevated threat cases. She will also be involved in youth mental health training in conjunction with student services.
This is a new position for every school district this year as required by the Office of Safe Schools in the Florida Department of Education, which the Citrus County School Board decided to create as a standalone position.