Sgt. Alex Wertz outlines Roanoke County school resource officer outreach

Sgt. Alex Wertz of the Roanoke County Sheriff's Office said he oversees four school resource officers and serves as the department's community outreach coordinator, describing how officers partner with school librarians to engage students without disrupting classroom instruction.

"We have four right now in the schools," Wertz said, adding that as community outreach coordinator the role is "pretty much my dream job." He described working with librarians as a way to "be in a classroom setting with the kids" without "taking up classroom time."

Wertz emphasized the personal motivation behind the outreach work: "making an impact on one kid would be more rewarding than any accolades that I could receive." He named a librarian, "Ms. Hal," as an example of school staff he works with to create that access.

No formal actions, funding details, or policy changes were announced during these remarks. The comments were delivered as a brief presentation about the department's school outreach and presence in local schools.