Kearns 'humbled' by SRO honor

Austin Johnson, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
Updated ·2 min read

A law enforcement veteran in Greenup County was named School Resource Officer of the Year for the 2023-24 academic year.

Chief Philip Kearns, who has served for 28 years, recently took on a new role in the Greenup County School District as a school resource officer. In the first year after the switch, he was nominated and won.

“I was pleasantly surprised when I learned I was named for the award,” Kearns said. “I didn’t really know what to say at first, because this is my first full school year as a school resource officer. For me to get this I am humbled by everybody thinking of me so highly.

“There are a lot of good school resource officers that I know of that could just as easily be awarded this,” he added.

Kearns wants the kids to know he is approachable and they can talk to him about whatever, he said.

“They are getting a lot more comfortable around me. I am happy about that,” Kearns said.

Traysea Moresea, Greenup County’s superintendent, said the award tells a lot about safety in the district.

“It says a tremendous amount of effort has been put into the safety of our students with him at the helm,” Moresea said. “He has done a fantastic job of making sure that all schools are safe by traveling and safety audits, but also building those relationships with kids where they are willing to come to him with any concerns,” she said.

“The ability for him to coordinate with other offices and local police with our police force has been fantastic,” Moresea added.

Kearns retired from the City of Russell about three years ago. Being an SRO does not compare to his former titles, he said.

“This (job) is fairly new to me; this is just such a different role in law enforcement — totally different from patrolling,” Kearns said. “I was a detective for a while prior to this and it’s so much different than that role, too.

“People that get to know me realize how much I enjoy this job and care for the kids,” Kearns added.

Jason Smith, Greenup County’s director of Safe Schools, said the Kentucky Association of School Resource Officers sent an email out to all Safe Schools coordinators in the state and said after witnessing first hand of Kearns’s abilities, he was a perfect applicant.

“I very quickly realized Chief Kearns was more than deserving, so I put together an application for him and actually submitted the application for Rookie of the Year,” Smith said. “They thought his application was so good that he got Eastern Kentucky School Resource Officer of the Year,” Smith said.