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As Rockbridge County Public Schools wrap up the school year, it does so with school resource officers now stationed at all of its schools.
Three additional SROs have been hired during this school year, bringing the total number to six. All six officers were introduced at the School Board’s meeting last week.
“As for the SROs, we are extremely glad to have one at each of our schools now. This has been a top safety priority of our School Board as well as the Board of Supervisors …” RCPS Superintendent Phillip Thompson told The News-Gazette. “There is no doubt that having an SRO in each school will make our schools safer and a better overall learning environment for our students and staff.”
The school resource officer position is not new at RCPS with the high school having an officer for 20 years, Maury River Middle School having one for the last 15 years, and Natural Bridge Elementary School having a SRO for the last seven years, Thompson said.
However, within the 2022-2023 academic year, the district, working in conjunction with the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office, has acquired officers for Central, Mountain View and Fairfield elementary schools.
While the county provides funding for the SROs at RCHS and MRMS, the district and Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office have obtained state funding to cover the program’s expenses at all four elementary schools, Chief Deputy Tony McFaddin told The News-Gazette. Next year, the county will have to match 45 percent of state funding to maintain the program.
Neighboring localities have found it difficult to fill deputy positions, let alone school resource officer jobs, but Rockbridge Sheriff Steve Funkhouser has been pleased by the ease of which he’s been able to find qualified SROs.
“I think it speaks a lot to the environment here in the county and for the school system that I was fortunate. I was able to fill positions quickly and recruit experienced law enforcement officers [that] all care …” Funkhouser said to the School Board at its meeting last week.
Sgt. Troy Wimer, SRO at MRMS, agreed with Funkhouser. He said, “[Neighboring localities] don’t have anybody … Not only do we have [the positions] filled, but we were also lucky enough we got them filled with people who are certified. We had deputies who came to us that were already certified. The county didn’t have to pay to do that – they’re ready to get to work now, and that was huge.”
Wimer made special note of the importance of SWAT experience when considering a SRO. “The reason why I’m saying this stuff as far as our SWAT team and experience is because these are things that I take offense when somebody looks to the school resource officer like a security guard. That’s not Rockbridge, I can promise you that,” he told the School Board. “If we’ve got you in a school, it’s because you know how to do the job like the sheriff said. It’s because you’re proficient at different skills.”
Wimer continued, “… If anything ever does happen, I want people to have the skills to get into a school, be tactful about it, and be higher trained than just the normal street cop – not to insult anybody else. All these guys and including myself have this training.”
The Rockbridge County SWAT team conducts training twice each month, he added.
Wimer introduced the officers from each school. He began with Deputy Chris Norris, who is stationed at Natural Bridge Elementary School. Norris has served for 26 years and is a notable sniper of the SWAT team. He has completed his instructorship for firearms.
Sgt. Junior Southers, who was originally the SRO at RCHS, is now stationed at Central Elementary School. He told The News-Gazette this week that his first year at Central has been much slower paced than his years at the high school and his days are filled with many more hugs from students.
In total, Southers has served the sheriff’s office for 23 years with 12 of those years acting as a supervisor, “which is an even better thing to have him in the school,” Wimer said at last week’s School Board meeting.
Among his other duties, Southers has been a firearm instructor for 15 years and is also the taser instructor. During his day at the school, Southers spends time in classrooms engaging with teachers and students, monitors the hallways, and secures all entrances and exits, he noted.
Deputy Scott Fitzgerald, transferring from the Lexington Police Department, joined the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office a couple of months ago, Wimer said. He has dedicated 19 years of service with 13 years of supervisor service. Fitzgerald has also been a crisis intervention team instructor for about 13 years. He is currently stationed at Mountain View Elementary School.
Deputy Oliver Shriver is working at Fairfield Elementary School. Transitioning from the Virginia Military Institute police force, Shriver has served for seven years in law enforcement and has been expanding his training by attending SWAT trainings, Wimer said.
Sgt. Craig Lawhorn monitors RCHS. Lawhorn has served for 17 years and has worked as a supervisor for 12 years. Similar to the other officers, Lawhorn has been a member of the SWAT team for 12 years.
To conclude this school year, the group will participate in active shooter/attacker training at CES, Wimer mentioned. Over the span of two days, the officers will move around the school’s hallways in an active attacker simulation, which will include an open fire from a blank gun to display the effects of gunpowder and gunfire noise. Wimer noted that they try to make this training as realistic as possible to properly prepare the SROs.
“We’re accountable, we’re available, and whatever you need we’re here to work with you. We work through [problems] whether we agree [or] disagree – we’re going to get to the end,” Sheriff Funkhouser said to the School Board. “We’re going to help you, and we’re going to do everything we can to provide a safe learning environment for the students of Rockbridge County.”
