WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Franklin County Fiscal Court announced on Friday the donation of two Dodge Chargers to Woodford County Public Schools. The vehicles will be used by school resource officers, increasing the district's fleet to three.
"Making sure that when our students go to school, when our staff enters the buildings, that they have that sense of security," said Adam Brickler with the Wooford County Board of Education.
Security is a universal priority for the two neighboring counties that are working together on this initiative.
"That really means a lot to us that they're willing to partner and provide these resources," Brickler said.
The donation brings the district closer to their goal of having a cruiser for each of their school resource officers.
"Response time is crucial when it comes to situations that can occur, and we see different things happen throughout the country, and we want to make sure that this type of enhancement, of having more cruisers, having more faster response time, can really be a benefit to our students," Brickler said.
"It's an essential tool we need," said Chief Steve Sutton.
In addition to security, Sutton says these cars bring them closer to the students they serve.
"I parked that house there, and it's like a magnet. Every kid wants to get in and open doors and turn the lights on, turn the sirens on. It's building that relationship with those kids," Sutton said.
With student safety as the top priority, this partnership between counties demonstrates a valuable lesson that there are no boundaries to teamwork.
"This is a huge step in the right direction," Brickler said.
