Shown are DeKalb County SRO Officers from L to R- Danny Bryan (Henagar), Kristy West (Crossville), Jairo Castillo (Collinsville) , Wesley Greeson (Geraldine) and Time Rector (Valley Head) and Captian Gary Brown along with the DeKalb County Board of Education members. Marla Jones|Southern Torch
Marla Jones, Managing Editor
RAINSVILLE, Ala.--The DeKalb County Board of Education recently approved the purchase of bulletproof vests for Student Resource Officers (SRO). This will be a financial help to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, since the loss of revenue from pistol permit sales.
“The DeKalb County Board of Education and I consider it a great investment to help protect our SRO’s by purchasing the protective vests. Our SRO’s do an outstanding job daily protecting our students, employees, and campuses, so we want to help make sure that they are properly equipped and protected “ stated DeKalb County Superintendent Wayne Lyles.
“Sheriff Welden has experienced a financial shortfall this year due to the decrease in handgun permit sales and asked if we could help. We want our SRO’s the have the have the best possible protection and comfort while they are on duty. The SRO’s have been very appreciative and given the vests great reviews” continued Lyles.
“We have an excellent working relationship with our county commission and sheriffs department, so we are glad to support them when needed. They do the same for us when we are in need of assistance” concluded Lyles.
DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden expressed his gratitude to the Board for the purchase.
“We greatly appreciate the DeKalb County Board of Education Board Members and Superintendent Wayne Lyles. They are always willing to help when it comes to school safety and programs by our office” stated Sheriff Nick Welden.
“In times when our funding has been cut and our pistol permits funds are basically gone, expensive upgrades such as new vests for our SROs are needed. I can’t say thank you enough to the BOE for stepping up and helping our office. Without this, our SROs would be using outdated equipment and that would pose a safety factor in protecting our schools” concluded Welden.
