State to proved $2.5M for school security upgrades

CLEVELAND (AP) — The state will provide $2.5 million to Cleveland schools to upgrade security in the wake of a shooting that left two teachers and two students wounded before the student gunman killed himself, the governor’s office said Friday.

The money would be available for security upgrades selected by the district, which has identified installing metal detectors in every school as a top priority, said Keith Dailey, spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland.

The state money will come from its share of a joint state-city fund established to renovate schools and build new ones, Dailey said.

“The governor wants to provide any and all possible assistance to the city of Cleveland,” he said.

The governor has been in contact with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson daily on school-related security issues since the shootings Oct. 10 at SuccessTech Academy, a high school that shares a high-rise office tower with school administrative offices.

The governor feels Jackson, who controls schools through an appointed board, and schools CEO Eugene Sanders have done a “tremendous” job addressing issues raised by the shootings, Dailey said. “The governor is going to do everything he can to support them,” he said.