Michael Andreas to lead the newly formed Department of Public Safety for the Sarasota County Schools
Michael D. Andreas, director of safety, security and emergency management for the Sarasota County School District, has been promoted to the position of executive director, effective immediately, the district has announced.
“Andreas will oversee the newly formed Department of Public Safety, which will include the Sarasota County Schools Police Department, among other safety teams,” a news release points out.
An Army veteran and former police officer, Andreas has served with the school district since 2016, the release adds. “Andreas’ promotion comes at an essential time as the school district looks to develop a self-sustained police force to ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff throughout Sarasota County,” the release points out.
“Mike Andreas is a proven security professional whose experience and expertise in leading school and community security efforts is outstanding,” said Todd Bowden, superintendent of the Sarasota County Schools, in the release. “We are lucky to have someone with his background and I am confident that the school police department will soon become a model of excellence under his leadership,” Bowden added in the release.
Andreas will be responsible for the formation and long-term implementation of the Department of Public Safety, which will include the school police force and the operations command center, among other functions, the release explains. The department is seeking a chief of police, police sergeants and school resource officers for the 2018-19 school year, which will begin in early August, the release notes.
Prior to joining the Sarasota County School District, Andreas served as director of the Graduate School of Homeland Security Studies at Endicott College in Massachusetts, the release says. There, he was responsible for leading the faculty and designing the program’s homeland and domestic security programs, the release points out. He has served on numerous federal, state and local task forces, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the U.S. Attorneys Massachusetts Anti-Terrorism Task Force and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s Criminal Justice Transition Team, the release notes.
Andreas also served on the Salem, Mass., Police Department in various positions, including patrolman, patrol sergeant, detective sergeant, patrol officer in charge, training officer and anti-terrorism officer, the release says.
“Andreas was awarded a full scholarship from the Department of Homeland Security to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.,” where he earned a master’s degree in national defense and homeland security, the release notes. He also received a master’s degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Norwich University, the Military College of Vermont, the release adds.
While he was in the Army, the release says, Andreas earned a Bronze Star for leading a divisional cavalry troop in the first Gulf War.
Andreas lives in Venice with his wife, Karen. They have two sons who attend Stetson University in DeLand, the release notes.