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Legislation would provide $17M for school building security
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
State officials are touting another $17 million for grants to schools wanting to improve their building security.
The new funding is included in one of the mid-biennium budget bills moving through the legislature and would be in addition to $12 million earmarked in the last biennial budget for school security systems.
State Superintendent Richard Ross said $10 million of the new funding will be used for public schools, and $7 million will go to private ones.
“If our students aren’t safe in schools, the quality of education they’re getting in the classroom quickly becomes a moot point,” Ross said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon. “This is the No. 1 concern, this overrides everything else. ... We have families of 1.6 million students who come to school every day, and they expect our schools to do everything they possibly can do to protect their children.”
State school officials also said they would begin reviewing school safety plans and providing technical assistance when improvements are needed.
Under state law, districts are required to file building blueprints and safety plans with the attorney general’s office, updating the information every few years or as new buildings are constructed. The information is not public record but is stored electronically and available to law enforcement as needed.
State education officials also announced Wednesday that they are backing legislation that would require schools to review their safety plans annually and conduct training drills for students and teachers. Another bill would penalize schools and potentially revoke licenses of superintendents in districts that fail to submit safety plans.