HARRISBURG – School safety grants totaling more than $940,000 were awarded today to 11 school districts and other entities serving students in southern Lancaster County, according to Senator Scott Martin (R-13).
School districts and other entities that will receive grants include:
• Manheim Township School District – $45,000.
• Lampeter-Strasburg School District – $40,000.
• Penn Manor School District – $45,000.
• Octorara Area School District – $40,000.
• Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 – $143,109.
• Chester County Intermediate Unit 24 – $256,693.
• Conestoga Valley School District – $115,890.
• School District of Lancaster – $45,000.
• Pequea Valley School District – $35,000.
• Solanco School District – $130,332.
Eligible uses for the grants include hiring school security officers, purchasing security-related technology, completing safety and security assessments, implementing violence prevention curricula, offering counseling services for students, and creating other programs to protect students.
The grants were awarded by the School Safety and Security Committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) as part of the School Safety and Security Grant Program, which was created by lawmakers in 2018. Senator Martin was one of the authors of the bill that created the program, and he also led efforts to expand and strengthen the program in 2019.
“One of the strengths of this grant program is flexibility. It allows each school district to evaluate its security needs and move forward on improvements that will have the greatest impact on the safety of local students,” Martin said. “This program has been extremely successful in helping our local schools reduce risks to students, faculty and staff, and I look forward to seeing what additional safety measures will be implemented in local schools as a result of these grants.”
A total of approximately $53.7 million was awarded for 524 projects throughout the state in the current round of funding. PCCD received a total of 970 applications totaling $134.5 million for school safety projects in the current Fiscal Year.
In spite of the popularity and importance of the program, Governor Wolf’s 2020-21 budget proposed to cut $45 million from the program next year — a 75-percent reduction. Martin said that Senate Republicans have made restoring this funding a top priority in budget negotiations.
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CONTACT: Terry Trego (717) 787-6535