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Kentucky Safe Schools week this year is set for Sunday, Oct. 20, to Saturday, Oct. 26. Jessamine County leaders, including Superintendent Sara Crum, Judge Executive David West, Nicholasville Mayor Alex Carter, and Wilmore Mayor Harold Rainwater, came together this week to sign a proclamation recognizing the week.

 

The Nicholasville Police Department (NPD) Chief, Michael Fleming, Judge West, and Jessamine County Schools Director of Operations, Matt Simpson, each spoke to a room of leaders, teachers, administrators, and students, calling for a safe learning environment and celebrating all that has been done in Jessamine County to keep schools safe. These efforts include emergency training and the school resource officers (SRO) who have been in schools since 2007. 

 

The SRO program started out with two officers patrolling the county’s two high schools. Today, the program has expanded to include nine officers throughout the district’s thirteen schools, including an officer from the Wilmore Police Department who is an SRO for Wilmore Elementary School. 

 

The SRO program is an investment split between the school district, Jessamine County, and the City of Nicholasville, with each sharing a third of the cost for the officers. Wilmore pays for its own Wilmore Elementary School SRO. 

 

Gabe Snyder was in attendance with a few of his classmates from East Jessamine High School.  “We get to form close connections with them, and it makes us feel really good whenever you see our school resource officer walking down the hallway,” Snyder said. “It’s just a really comfortable feeling to have someone there who cares and has the ability to protect.” 

 

The current superintendent, Sara Crum, was previously the director of operations for the school district. 

 

“Our relationship with the schools is by far the best relationship we could possibly ask for. When Sara got appointed superintendent of schools, we were really blessed about that cause we already had built that relationship with her; we didn’t have to start from the ground up or reinvent the wheel regarding school safety,” Fleming said. 

 

“For our SROs to be able to know the name of a thousand kids in a school is phenomenal, and they create those relationships, and they build trust, even for the kids who are our trouble makers or the ones who are less fortunate at home and have issues. Those relationships are being built, leading to a better future for our schools and students. Our community is also good about inviting other mentors and counselors into the schools to support our kids, and that’s also great. So, the partnerships aren’t just about ensuring campus safety and developing safety protocols, but they are about building trusting relationships, and that’s the most important thing that I see. So I appreciate it, and I’m happy to say that I think Nicholasville schools are in good hands with the school staff and law enforcement,” Fleming said.