John Wilkerson, a sergeant with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, has been hired as the next director of school police for the Ozark district.
Wilkerson will start July 1, taking over for Capt. Mark Deeds, who is retiring from the post after 13 years in the Ozark district and nearly 40 years in law enforcement.
Wilkerson has worked as a school resource officer in the district since 2018. He is assigned to the Ozark Innovation Center, which is also the district’s headquarters.
“Sgt. Wilkerson will continue to lead our school resource officers with the same high standards that we have come to expect,” said Kim Fitzpatrick, executive director of student services, in a Thursday news release.
“He brings years of experience and continues to keep up on trends in the training, which is imperative in the fast-changing world of law enforcement.”
Wilkerson has been in law enforcement for 23 years, primarily working as a patrol deputy with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office before moving into the SRO role. He is a retired member of the U.S. Army’s Military Police.