04-19-24 News Nugget – Highland SRO

This is Scott Smith with an Allegheny Mountain Radio News Nugget.

In a post shared Thursday morning on the Highland County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Sheriff Bob Kelly said:

“I am informing you with a heavy heart that as of 4/19/2024 will be the last day the Highland County Sheriff’s Office will provide our school system with an SRO. After becoming sheriff in January of 2024 my plans were to provide an SRO for the county without the “formal” position and the funding. We were hoping that the Sheriff’s office could function properly, one patrol officer short. But things have changed. I have had two deputies resign from the police academy and that has put us in a very difficult situation. The day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s office require patrol officers. I plan to move Deputy McGuire from SRO to patrol, we need officers on the road to patrol and serve the community. As stated earlier, I share this information with a broken heart. My passion has always been to have an officer in the school, it is important for the students and staff to have a positive relationship with law enforcement. The Sheriff’s deputies will still come by the school as often as possible. I will diligently work on solving the funding issue for an SRO position, I hope to get an SRO back into the school soon!”