The Broward School District has paused a controversial proposal to replace school resource officers from local city police departments with its own police force, following an outcry from elected leaders.

Kevin Nosowicz, police chief for Broward schools, sent letters earlier this month to police chiefs in Coconut Creek, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach and Margate informing them the district didn’t intend to renew longstanding contracts to use their police officers in some or all of the schools in their cities. The contracts are set to expire in August.

But on Wednesday, Nosowicz sent letters to the cities rescinding those notices. His letter says the district will continue to negotiate with cities for school law enforcement services for the 2026-27 school year.

“We appreciate the negotiation team’s willingness to return to the discussion table and value the strong partnership and shared commitment to the safety and security of our students, staff and school communities,” Nosowicz wrote to Margate City Manager Cale Curtis.

Similar letters were sent to the other three cities as well, district officials said.

Some elected officials said the initial letters to rescind came abruptly without warning, and they had already budgeted for the police officers for the new year. The school district pays cities about $119,000 for each officer.

“The letters did not meet my expectations of how we communicate,” Superintendent Howard Hepburn told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Thursday.

Hepburn told the Sun Sentinel the district may still use its own police officers in some schools, but it will happen only after a thorough discussion with affected cities.

“I’ve heard the concerns from our municipality leaders,” Hepburn told the Sun Sentinel. “I’ve even gone to the city manager association and League of Cities meeting in person to actually express that’s not how we operate as a district, when we have such large initiatives to support safety and security.

“It’s going to come from a face-to-face conversation. It’s going to be a detailed explanation in the meeting to discuss our challenges and come up with common solutions as partners.”

Several city leaders in Fort Lauderdale said they were open to the change, but elected officials from the other cities voiced strong opposition.

Margate Commissioner Arlene Schwartz had blasted the district’s initial move, which she learned about through a letter to the police chief that arrived the afternoon on Friday, April 10.

“No explanation. No prior warning. No discussion,” Schwartz told School Board member Allen Zeman at an April 16 meeting of the North Area Advisory Committee, a parent group that makes recommendations to the School Board. “To be clear, not one person from the School Board has ever called the city manager or any of us to discuss a unilateral decision.”

“The only thing the city of Margate got was a sign in front of Margate Middle listing all the things that were never going to get done.” Commissioner Arlene Schwartz blasts @browardschools during a Thursday night meeting of the North Area Advisory.https://t.co/bRMFvOTW0B

— Scott Travis (@smtravis) April 17, 2026

Board members said at an April 14 workshop that they didn’t know about the plan either.

“This decision was not made by this board,” Board member Adam Cervera said at the workshop. “This decision was done internally, and I’m not suggesting it was the right or wrong decision, but I think it’s important to be transparent with the public about how we got to this particular situation.”

Asked at the meeting whether School Board approval is needed to sever ties with the police departments, Hepburn said that’s needed only if the contract is being terminated early. “If a contract has an end date, and it expires, we don’t bring expired contracts to the board.”

Board members said they should have had a greater say on this decision. They asked for a workshop to be held on the district’s school resource officer plan. That meeting is still scheduled for Tuesday, despite the letters being rescinded.

In a Thursday post on Facebook, Schwartz praised Margate elected officials and community members who pushed back against the school district’s initial decision.

“Because of these and the efforts of many others, Margate Made a Difference! Thank you to everyone who proved that ‘Together We Make It Great!’” she wrote. “Our amazing, well-loved SROs will be back in their Margate schools August 10, 2026, for the new school year.”