The job of the School Resource Officer, Sgt. Likins noted, is to bridge the gap. Likins stated, “When kids see who you are, you are another trusted adult in the school system. We are not just here to stop violence, though we are trained and prepared for that if needed; that’s the dark reason we are here. Even more importantly, though, we are here to build a rapport, to guide, and to teach.” It’s the vision that Superintendent Sheila Mitchell and Sherriff Joe Milam envisioned when they collaborated in a shared plan to have not only the best but also the safest schools in the state. That vision involved hiring an SRO for every school in the district, years before it became a state requirement, as it only did just a few weeks ago when Governor Andy Beshear signed House Bill 63 into law on April 8th, 2022 that each campus in the state must have an SRO by August 1st, 2022. In that regard, Anderson County Public Schools have been forward thinking on school safety.