August 19, 2013
A resolution was reached to help alleviate the traffic situation at White House Heritage High School. On Friday, school officials agreed to fund a part-time crossing guard in the sheriff’s office budget. Schools typically hire traffic control to handle issues with arrival and dismissal. In the past few years, however, traffic at Heritage High School was covered by a White House Police Officer that was responsible for the school. Beginning in August, the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office assumed responsibility for Heritage High School staffing the school with a School Resource Officer (SRO).
Due to a multitude of security concerns, Robertson County SRO’s do not work traffic control at any of the schools staffed by the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement and school officials have long acknowledged that the two most vulnerable times of the day for a school are arrival and dismissal. This requires the SRO to be responsible for the security of the school during these times as opposed to directing traffic.
In response to the concerns of parents and citizens regarding the traffic issues, White House Heritage High School has agreed to fund a part-time crossing guard to handle the traffic at the school. While the funding will come from the school, the hiring and staffing of the position will be undertaken by the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office. Until the crossing guard is hired, the sheriff’s office is absorbing the cost of placing off-duty officers at the school for traffic control.