WATERTOWN, S.D.(KWAT)–It didn’t take long for a new School Resource Officer (SRO)  in rural Codington County to get to work.

Last month, Deputy Travis Gutzmer was named the new school resource officer for schools in Henry, Florence, and Waverly-South Shore.

Some might wonder why small schools like those three would need an SRO, but Sheriff Brad Howell says the issues seen in schools are the same–regardless of their size.

The idea is to cut off potentially dangerous behavior.

The sheriff says all the interested parties are sharing in the cost of this new SRO position.