How to Get In Line for New School Safety Grant
The Governor signed a School Safety Plan into law March 26 that provides $100 million in school grants to improve doors, locks, alarms, intercoms, alarm systems, metal detectors and the like. It will cover costs associated with complying with best practices for school safety, trauma-informed care and related training. It will cover school resource officers.
The bill was passed with the consultation and support of WCRIS, on behalf of its 600 schools across the state. Thanks to WCRIS advocacy, private schools and students are included in the grant program and all other aspects of the new law.
The new law places the Department of Justice (DOJ) in charge of the grant process through a newly created Office of School Safety.
Just after the law was signed, the DOJ announced that schools that want to apply for a grant should send a short letter of interest outlining: contact information; the project you hope to implement; the name of the law enforcement agency that will review and approve your project; an estimated dollar amount of the grant; whether the project can be in place for next school year; when you would be able to provide a fully developed application plan.
“Schools that get in line early for this program may have a better chance of getting a piece of the $100 million the legislature has provided to secure our schools. There likely will be more demand than dollars, so schools are advised to generate a list of their needs and prioritize them,” said WCRIS Executive Director Sharon Schmeling.
To help stretch the funds, the Governor issued an Executive Order directing the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) to ensure schools have access to the state’s contracts so they can get the best possible price for capital improvements, she said.
The Governor also urged state contractors to provide private schools with the same prices they are charging public schools, she said.
To assist with that, the DOA is building a web page that will provide specific information about school safety vendors and prices. The agency says the site should be up by late April. While private schools are not covered under the state contracts, state officials encourage them to use that information to negotiate better prices from vendors, Schmeling said.
Information about contracts and vendors can be found under the “products” tab of DOA website here.
To learn more about submitting a request, visit the DOJ website.
