Swarming the halls between classes at Clarke Central High School, hundreds of teenagers cut up with each other, stop off at their lockers and eventually make their way to class. Gliding amidst them is a watchful guardian.
No, not Batman — this guardian has a real heart for the students, and doesn’t need a mask to affect the community within which he works.
“You get one or two kids that’re normally gonna drop out of school, and you get them to graduate,” Senior Police Officer Tommy Barnett said. “And you see them go across the stage. I think that’s my reason for coming back year after year after year, ‘cause I’m always hoping I can save just one more kid, one more kid—that’s the reason I wake up every morning and come here.”
Athens native SPO Barnett is a school resource officer at Clarke Central High. Having been there for nine years, he knows well his role in the school.
“I think I’m a liaison between the police department and the teenagers, and also teenagers to the police department,” SPO Barnett said. “I try to break down some of the barriers and not be so macho, or so rigid, but try to talk to the kids and get an understanding of what they’re going through, and why they’re acting the way they act.”
Each of the four middle and two high schools in the Clarke County School District has an SRO, with each high school getting an additional police officer from the ACCPD.
“Having someone in the schools with the power to arrest and carry a firearm is important these days,” Major Carter Greene, a superior officer in charge of the SROs, said via email. “You never know what is going to happen one day to the next. It can also prevent and reduce the likelihood of another Columbine shooting.”
The process of becoming a resource officer highlights the intricate and personal relationship between the school district and police department.
“The SRO position is a voluntary decision on the part of the officer,” Major Greene said. “We open it up to any officer who is then interviewed by the school principal. The decision as to which officer is chosen is strictly up to the school administration.”
While the resource officer acts as a presence of authority, they do not exist to serve a disciplinary function. If an officer finds a student breaking schools rules, it is their job to get that student to an administrator, according to SPO Barnett. The school in turn decides on the plan of discipline for the offending student.
The school district’s Code of Student Conduct contains twenty-eight individual guidelines for addressing “prohibited behavior,” which encompasses “what students must not do.”
Discipline for violations range from detention to long term suspension or expulsion. If the principal or assistant principal recommends the latter, a disciplinary hearing occurs with the school district’s Disciplinary Hearing Officer.
“The hearing officer oversees student hearings and makes determinations as to disciplinary actions,” Anisa Jimenez, Director of Public Relations and Communications for the district, said in an email. “If the matter is appealed, then the superintendent and Board of Education preside over that hearing, with the Board voting on whether or not to overturn the original hearing decision.”
The district wrote the student code with the help of attorneys, and while the whole disciplinary process may be technical and seem wordy, one of the main goals of the code is “to ensure an environment for learning which is protected from interruption and harassment,” according to the code.
It is this code that resource officers work alongside, and the concern for student safety all over the county is apparent on both sides of the fence.
“A lot of people like to say it’s a sign of the times, and kids are bad, and stuff like that,” said SPO Barnett. “But that’s not the only service that we provide, to be here to stop fights. We’re here actually to provide a safe environment for the kids to learn.”
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Contact Information:
SPO Tommy Barnett: barnettt@clarke.k12.ga.us (yes, three t’s in the email address)
He only gave me his email when I spoke with him at the high school. I asked for his cell, but he deferred.
Major Carter Greene: cartergreene@co.clarke.ga.us
I was only in contact with Major Greene via email, but I was able to get in touch with him through a reference from a police officer I know.
Anisa Jimenez: jimenezan@clarke.k12.ga.us
Phone: 706-546-7721 ext. 18271
It’s interesting, because I never got in touch with her in the first place; she found me. She also provided me with a physical copy of the Student Code of Conduct
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