Elizabeth School District leaders demonstrated their appreciation for their School Resource Officers and partners at the Elizabeth Police Department by providing breakfast and mid-morning treats for SRO Appreciation Day on Thursday.

Officers Lyndi Burnley and Steven Herbel, who are based at Elizabeth Middle School and Elizabeth High School respectively, were joined by Chief Jeff Engel and Sgt. Sean Bigler, both of whom provide a great deal of support to schools on a regular basis. They were given breakfast burritos to start the day and then called to the EHS conference room at 10 a.m. for doughnuts and words of appreciation from district security staff members and administrators from both schools and the district.

The SRO program was expanded this school year to ensure full-time coverage by Officers Burnley and Herbel, who provide a wide range of support -- from security to emergency support, interventions for students in crisis, Safe2Tell follow-ups and much more. The SROs are both full-time police officers as well as full members of their schools' staffs.