Oconee County Schools Now Has Resource Officers In Five Of Its 12 Schools, Board Of Education Informed At Monday Work Session

***High Schools And Middle Schools Have SROs

Only a little more than a month after approval of an agreement setting up a School Resource Officer (SRO) program for Oconee County Schools, officers have been assigned to five of the system’s 12 schools.

Kevin Yancey, Director of Student Services at Oconee County Schools, told the Oconee County Board of Education at its work session on Monday (March 3) that, as of that day, the third officer had been assigned to the system’s three middle schools.

Two officers were assigned, one to each of the high schools, back in September shortly after after the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County that left two students and two teachers dead and seven others injured, Yancey reminded the Board.

Yancey said that Sheriff James Hale is continuing to recruit qualified deputies for SRO positions and that Yancey would keep the Board updated.

In a session that lasted only 30 minutes, staff advised the Board that they would be asking for approval on March 10 for expenditures of $135,290 for an upgrade to the lighting at the Oconee County High School practice field and of $266,851 for five replacement vehicles.

The lighting and the vehicles will be paid for with Educational Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) and General Fund monies, the Board was told.

SRO Update

As part of his Student Services Report on Monday, Yancey included the update on the SRO program approved by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners, the Sheriff’s Office, and the School Board on Jan. 29.

Yancey (Back To Camera), Superintendent Jason Branch,
Board Chair Michael Ransom, Hammond (L-R) 3/3/2025

Yancey told the Board that Capt. Mark Smith has assumed leadership of the SRO Program, and that he will be based at Malcom Bridge Middle School.

Lt. Paul Maxey has been assigned as School Resource Officer at Dove Creek Middle School, Yancey said, and Cpl. Quinton NeSmith started on Monday at Oconee County Middle School.

“With these additions, the SRO team now consists of five officers, four assigned directly to schools, and Capt. Smith overseeing the program while maintaining a presence at Malcom Bridge Middle School,” Yancey said.

Yancey said the next position to be filled will be a dedicated officer at Malcom Bridge Middle School. Smith may remain at that school or move to another location, Yancey said.

“We are waiting information from the Sheriff when he has a deputy available,” Yancey said.

“I just want to thank you, Dr. Yancey, for all the work--and staff,” Board Member Adam Hammond said.

Uploaded By Oconee County Schools 3/4/2025

“We talked at the beginning of this of how the process can take some time,” Hammond said. “I think it is really encouraging that you were able to place people so quickly.”

Yancey provided no information on Smith, Maxey, or NeSmith, but a search of the Oconee County web site shows that all three are or have been on the Sheriff’s Office staff.

Update: Sheriff Hale told me in an email at 5:08 a.m. on 3/4/2025 that "All five (of the SROs) are current staff. The two at the high schools are Sgt. Kenji Dorsey and Cpl. Johnny Richards. According to a news release by Oconee County Schools on the morning of 3/4/2025, Dorsey is at Oconee County High School and Richards is at North Oconee High School. 

Field Lighting

Fred Ricketson, Director of Facilities, told the Board the agenda for the regular board meeting on March 10 will include the request for the $135,290 upgrade to the Oconee County High School practice field lighting.

“This is an upgrade of the lighting on the practice field from recreational lighting levels to competition levels,” he said.

Board Member Hammond asked Ricketson to talk “about the importance, competitive wise, of having the lights. What does that necessarily mean to students?”

“That will allow us to host games on that field if we so desire,” Ricketson said, “and also allows our athletes to practice under real-time conditions of what games are like.”

Vehicles

Ryan White, Chief Operations Officer, told the Board that he wants to maintain a replacement cycle “on our white fleet vehicles that are used across Oconee County Schools” that parallels the cycle for the replacement of buses.

He said the system has five vehicles that have 200,000 miles on them “that will require replacement.”

Three are for maintenance technicians, one is for the mechanics supervisor, and one is for the technology staff, he said.

He said he is expecting delivery in mid to late July at a cost, set by state contract, of $266,851.

After the meeting, White told me he didn’t know the total number of vehicles in the white fleet, which he said is the standard name used for vehicles in a school system that are not buses. He said he would get a figure and relay it to me through Communications Director Steven Colquitt.

Update: At 9:19 a.m. on 3/4/2025 Colquitt sent me this message: Per Dr. White, there are 27 vehicles in the white fleet.

Video

The video below is of the meeting of the Oconee County Board of Education on March 3.

Yancey began his discussion of the SRO program at 10:56 in the video

White began his discussion of the purchase of five vehicles at White Fleet Vehicles is at 19:05 in the video.

Ricketson began discussing lighting at the Oconee County High School practice field at 22:43 in the video.