The Los Angeles Community College District announced Friday it is seeking a new security services contract after failing to reach agreement on a new contract with the sheriff’s department, which has provided services to its campuses for 19 years.

District officials had negotiated with sheriff’s department representatives for five months and were not able to reach agreement for a six-month contract or long-term contract “in light of the current COVID-19 environment,” Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez said.

The sheriff’s department’s contract with LACCD expires on Dec. 31, and the district is exploring unarmed service models, the sheriff’s department reported.

Rodriguez said the district will conduct an assessment of campus safety over the next few months “and use that assessment as the basis for a request for proposals for campus safety services.”

The district would welcome a new proposal from the sheriff’s department after it issues the request for proposals, Rodriguez said.

The district did not release details about the types of security services that will be provided or what type of temporary contract is being pursued.

Deputies who patrol the campuses will be reassigned within the department, according to department. About 150 sheriff’s department personnel are part of its Community College Bureau, which began operations for the community college district in 2001, said William H. Boyer, the district’s director of communications.

The LACCD spends more than $25 million a year for sheriff’s department services, including round-the-clock security at its nine colleges, several branch sites and satellite campuses, the district’s main office in downtown Los Angeles and other facilities, Boyer said.

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