The departure of School Resource Officer Jerry Varner has opened the door for a new temporary replacement as Frisco Police Department Sergeant John Skaehill is taking over as the school’s new SRO.

“I’ve only been here one day, but I already can tell that it’s very family-oriented,” Skaehill said.  “Everyone’s very friendly. I want to be here to provide safety and security for everybody here.”

Skaehill’s posting is only temporary as the school will start looking for Varner’s permanent replacement next month.

“The process right now is that officer Skaehill will be here for the remainder of the year,” principal Scott Warstler said. “Applications for SRO will be given out in April. They will compile a pool. And then people at the police departments will put together a list of the top five to ten. That list will be given to an assistant superintendent and the top three will be given to me. I will sit down and interview them. Then, at that point, our assistant superintendent and I will make the final decision for the permanent replacement for officer Varner.”

Skaehill has plenty of experience as an SRO as he oversees all the SRO’s on the east side of the district. But despite his background, Skaehill faces one significant obstacle.

“I think the biggest challenge here is to try and fill Jerry’s shoes,” Skaehill said. “He is very loved. That’s going to be the biggest challenge. I hope I can do as good of a job as he did. With the police department we get to go out and write tickets and it’s all very reactive. At school, you get to build relationships with staff and student sand it’s very much proactive. It’s much more helpful.”