Lee County school district look to hire Cape Coral police chief for safety position

Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Chief Dave Newlan. Credit: Cape Coral Police Department.

The School District of Lee County has approached Chief Dave Newlan of Cape Coral Police Department about a new position to oversee safety. As Cape Coral’s chief of police, Newlan has dealt with his share of high-profile cases.

Now, the District is set to hire Newlan as its new executive director of safety, security and emergency management.

If Lee County School Board approves the hire, Newlan will resign as chief in Cape Coral, which pays more than $166,000 a year. The new job with the District would be budgeted to pay at least $102,000.

Newlan will take charge of the school’s organization of shelters in the case of a hurricane or natural disaster and work with school resource officers to keep students safe.

Newlan has some experience dealing with safety and security in schools. In 2019, there were 47 threats against schools in Cape Coral.

At the time, Newlan went public with a plea for help.

“We want to protect our kids, and we will continue to do so.”Newlan said.

The city says the Cape Coral city manager is working on a plan to replace Newlan in the event he accepts the position with the District. School board members are set to talk about hiring Newlan Tuesday.

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