The Highland Central School District is pleased to introduce its new School Resource Officer (SRO), Brian Scott. Scott has come on board through an agreement with the Town of Lloyd, which was approved during a Board of Education meeting in August.

Scott is a veteran police officer with more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement. He is also a familiar face in Highland, having graduated from the school district and later having served as a sergeant with the Town of Lloyd Police Department. In addition, he is the proud parent of a Grade 4 student at Highland Elementary School.
“Officer Scott is a well-respected and highly trusted member of the school community,” said Superintendent of Schools Joel Freer. “His experience will make him a tremendous asset to the Highland Central School District.”

The main goals of the SRO program are to provide safe learning environments for students and staff and to help bridge the gap between the local police department and the school district. While Scott’s primary role as SRO will be to assist and protect students and staff in an emergency or crisis situation, his day-to-day responsibilities will go well beyond that. 

“I’ll be able to provide valuable resources and even serve as a resource myself,” Scott said. “I’ll also be acting as a liaison between the police department and the schools, and will be able to collaborate on any issues that need to be addressed.”

Scott credits himself with having a calm demeanor and level-headedness that he feels will be assets to his new job. As he begins to establish a visible and familiar presence in each of the schools this year, he hopes to become a trusted mentor to the students and even help dispel some common misconceptions that people have about police officers. “I’m all about building strong relationships and creating open lines of communication,” he said. “I think that will be beneficial for everybody.”

Freer explained that the Board of Education began having discussions about reinstituting the District’s SRO program back in the spring. “We are thankful that the Town was eager to begin the process of bringing SROs back into our schools,” he said. “While Officer Scott will be shared between each of our three school buildings for the time being, the District remains committed to developing the program and adding more SROs in the near future.”