Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson meets to discuss the school resource officer program in Bradley County Schools.
Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson and Bradley County Director of Schools Dr. Linda Cash announce a Memorandum of Understanding further establishing the mission of the school resource officer program in all Bradley County Schools for the 2015-2016 school year.
Sheriff Watson expressed a strong belief that the SRO program is an important link between law enforcement and Bradley County Schools. The program is designed to create and maintain a safe and secure learning environment in all schools, said. To that end, the sheriff announces that Lt. Julie Quinn, who serves as SRO at Bradley Central High School, will supervise the programs at all 16 Bradley County Schools, while maintaining her position at the school. An additional school resource officer will be on-site at Bradley High School, in effect giving the largest school in the county system two SROs.
The sheriff noted the program is funded 100 percent by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, “it doesn’t cost Bradley County Schools a dime to have a school resource officer.”
Sheriff Watson and Dr. Cash stress the fact that on-site school resource officers seek to reduce incidents of school violence and provide safety for students and all persons involved in the school system, while establishing a rapport with students, parents, faculty and staff in each school, from elementary to the high school level.
Sheriff Watson commended the spirit of cooperation between the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and Bradley County Schools, saying, “BCSO also will provide, as part of the SRO program, personnel to assist in the traffic flow at Walker Valley High School and other Bradley County Schools as needed.”
The sheriff concluded by saying, “I’m excited our partnership through the SRO program is continuing with the county school system. It’s a win-win for both BCSO and the schools.”
Dr. Linda Cash