Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy transitioned into 2023 with big changes.
Staffing Changes
Our staff at MACLEA looks a little different today than it did a year ago. In 2022, we lost two members of the MACLEA team that had devoted a combined 35 years of service to our training facility, Giovanni Carollo and Dr. Rich Flotron.
Lieutenant Giovanni Carollo retired in June 2022 after serving Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy for 15 years. Before coming to MACLEA, Gio served four years in the U.S. Marines, followed by 24 years as a law enforcement officer. It’s safe to say he has earned his retirement, and we wish him all the best!
After 20 years at Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy, Dr. Rich Flotron accepted a position as Associate Dean of Student Services, where he will continue serving the students of Mineral Area College. We will miss having Rich with us at the academy, but we are proud of his accomplishments and know he will excel in his new position. If you previously contacted Dr. Flotron for your academy needs, you should now direct your questions to Doug Ruess or one of our administrative assistants.
To start 2023, we were fortunate to hire three new staff members who are tremendous assets to our program: Jim Weber, Jason Fitzwater, and Zak Jackson. You can read more about our new instructors here.
CLEE Courses
In 2023, we’ve taken our continuing education courses to the next level. We are providing courses monthly that benefit the everyday law enforcement officer. We are doing a Building Entry & Room clearing course every month in 2023. Our February and March classes are full, but we have dates set for April, and May already. We also will have a Patrol Pistol Course, Vehicle Interaction Course, Firearms Instructor Course, and Rifle Instructor Course. In July, we will be hosting a 40-hour Active Shooter School. There will be a Basic Undercover Course, Basic Gang Investigations, as well as a Basic Confidential Informant Course added to the schedule soon. As 2023 continues, more courses will be added, so check the schedule often.
MO Blue Scholarship
In October 2022, Governor Mike Parson announced the Missouri Blue Scholarship for the 22-23 school year.
The Missouri Blue Scholarship is a law enforcement basic training academy scholarship that makes $5,000 available for each selected non-sponsored* law enforcement academy recruit to help cover the cost of attending a Missouri basic training academy. The Missouri Blue Scholarship is a law enforcement basic training academy scholarship that makes $5,000 available for each selected non-sponsored* law enforcement academy recruit to help cover the cost of attending a Missouri basic training academy. To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must FIRST apply to a basic training academy (or if currently enrolled in an academy, the scholarship application must be received before graduation).
*A non-sponsored law enforcement academy recruit is one whose tuition is not being paid by a law enforcement agency. Recruits who attend an academy affiliated with a law enforcement agency and do not pay tuition are not eligible for this scholarship.
Governor Mike Parson included, and the Missouri General Assembly approved, a total of $1 million in Missouri Blue Scholarship funding in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget.
We are proud to have had the majority of our 22-23 MACLEA students receive this scholarship to attend our academy. We hope to see it approved it again for 23-24.