The state’s Department of Homeland Security has awarded funds for schools to employ officers and purchase security equipment.
School resource officers are here to stay, or at least they will be paid for another year. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has renewed grants or awarded new funds for area schools to employ officers and purchase security equipment.
More than $9 million was allocated to Indiana school districts last week through School Safety Grants, with $36,757 going to Monroe County Community School Corp., $50,000 to Richland-Bean Blossom Schools and $35,000 to the Bloomfield school district. After a district has spent its portion of the funds, the state reviews the corporation’s receipts and documents, then matches what was spent. If a district doesn’t spend all the grant money, the Department of Homeland Security only matches what was spent.
MCCSC applied for about $6,000 more than last year from the state.
According to Tim Thrasher, MCCSC’s director of business operations, the requested increase is to help cover the $59,000 annual salary of the district’s current resource officer, Jim Witmer. Last year, MCCSC received $30,940 that the district matched with money from the school’s general fund.
“The first grant didn’t quite cover half the SRO’s salary (and benefits),” Thrasher said. “This time around, we knew exactly what the salary and benefits were and asked for exactly half of it.”
R-BB spent $50,000 to finish its security camera system, and students and faculty will see the funds in action with new tinted windows on the schools in the fall. The window tinting will allow school personnel to see a person approaching the building, but those outside the doors won’t be able to see inside the school.
Some of the grant money was also earmarked for upgrading a door that requires visitors to buzz in at the service center, where administration offices are located and board meetings are conducted. The matching funds provided by the state will go toward paying the salary of a school resource officer who will be hired this summer, and with a renewal of a $50,000 grant, R-BB will continue to fund the position.
While a salary for the resource officer has not yet been determined, R-BB Superintendent Mike Wilcox said “we’ll pay the SRO as much as we can within the works of that grant.”
The R-BB school board will take a look at a memorandum on the school resource officer agreement between the Ellettsville Police Department and the school corporation at the next regular meeting on June 23. Ellettsville Town Marshal Tony Bowlen will offer a recommendation on a resource officer for the district at a future meeting this summer.
The funding that beefed up security in the Bloomfield schools during the last school year has been well spent, from Superintendent Dan Sichting’s point of view. With the $35,000 grant, the corporation bought security cameras, and there were two incidents when students made bomb threats that were resolved due to the new security devices.
“Those cameras helped us to solve those situations in about an hour each time,” Sichting said.
With the grant renewed, the district will purchase new cameras that offer a higher level of visibility and detail to replace old ones. The newer devices allow police officers to access the footage when they drive up to school buildings.
“In the case of an armed intruder, they’d have access into our building to let police responding to the scene know where the armed intruder is and track his movement,” Sichting said.
Sichting points out the need for an SRO in Bloomfield schools may not be as great compared with other corporations because the police agencies aren’t far away, but if Bloomfield had enough money in its general fund to match a grant to hire a resource officer, Sichting said he’d do it.
More than $9 million was allocated to Indiana school districts last week through School Safety Grants, with $36,757 going to Monroe County Community School Corp., $50,000 to Richland-Bean Blossom Schools and $35,000 to the Bloomfield school district. After a district has spent its portion of the funds, the state reviews the corporation’s receipts and documents, then matches what was spent. If a district doesn’t spend all the grant money, the Department of Homeland Security only matches what was spent.
MCCSC applied for about $6,000 more than last year from the state.
According to Tim Thrasher, MCCSC’s director of business operations, the requested increase is to help cover the $59,000 annual salary of the district’s current resource officer, Jim Witmer. Last year, MCCSC received $30,940 that the district matched with money from the school’s general fund.
“The first grant didn’t quite cover half the SRO’s salary (and benefits),” Thrasher said. “This time around, we knew exactly what the salary and benefits were and asked for exactly half of it.”
R-BB spent $50,000 to finish its security camera system, and students and faculty will see the funds in action with new tinted windows on the schools in the fall. The window tinting will allow school personnel to see a person approaching the building, but those outside the doors won’t be able to see inside the school.
Some of the grant money was also earmarked for upgrading a door that requires visitors to buzz in at the service center, where administration offices are located and board meetings are conducted. The matching funds provided by the state will go toward paying the salary of a school resource officer who will be hired this summer, and with a renewal of a $50,000 grant, R-BB will continue to fund the position.
While a salary for the resource officer has not yet been determined, R-BB Superintendent Mike Wilcox said “we’ll pay the SRO as much as we can within the works of that grant.”
The R-BB school board will take a look at a memorandum on the school resource officer agreement between the Ellettsville Police Department and the school corporation at the next regular meeting on June 23. Ellettsville Town Marshal Tony Bowlen will offer a recommendation on a resource officer for the district at a future meeting this summer.
The funding that beefed up security in the Bloomfield schools during the last school year has been well spent, from Superintendent Dan Sichting’s point of view. With the $35,000 grant, the corporation bought security cameras, and there were two incidents when students made bomb threats that were resolved due to the new security devices.
“Those cameras helped us to solve those situations in about an hour each time,” Sichting said.
With the grant renewed, the district will purchase new cameras that offer a higher level of visibility and detail to replace old ones. The newer devices allow police officers to access the footage when they drive up to school buildings.
“In the case of an armed intruder, they’d have access into our building to let police responding to the scene know where the armed intruder is and track his movement,” Sichting said.
Sichting points out the need for an SRO in Bloomfield schools may not be as great compared with other corporations because the police agencies aren’t far away, but if Bloomfield had enough money in its general fund to match a grant to hire a resource officer, Sichting said he’d do it.
School Safety Grants
Area schools receiving School Safety Grants for the 2014-15 school year:
• Brown County School Corp. was awarded $46,625 for equipment.
• Bloomfield School District was awarded $35,000 for equipment.
• Linton-Stockton School Corp. was awarded $50,000 to employ a school resource officer and for equipment.
• Metropolitan School District of Shakamak was awarded $15,000 to employ an SRO and for equipment.
• White River Valley School District was awarded $15,000 to employ an SRO.
• Metropolitan School District Martinsville Schools was awarded $50,000 for equipment.
• Mitchell Community Schools was awarded $8,508.50 for equipment.
• North Lawrence Career Center was awarded $17,878 for equipment.
• Monroe County Community School Corp. was awarded $36,757 to employ an SRO.
• Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp. was awarded $50,000 to employ an SRO and for equipment.
• Monroe-Gregg School District was awarded $40,500 for equipment.
• Mooresville Consolidated School Corp. was awarded $50,000 for equipment.
• Spencer-Owen Community Schools was awarded $30,000 to employ an SRO.
Area schools that received School Safety Grants for the 2013-14 school year:
• Brown County School Corp. received $50,000 for school security equipment.
• Bloomfield School District received $35,000 for school security equipment.
• Metropolitan School District of Shakamak received $15,000 for school security equipment and to employ an SRO.
• White River Valley School District received $10,000 to employ an SRO.
• North Lawrence Community Schools received $49,968.20 for school security equipment.
• Monroe County Community School Corp. received $30,940 to employ an SRO.
• Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp. received $50,000 to employ an SRO
• Monroe-Gregg School District received $50,000 for school security equipment.
• Mooresville Consolidated School Corp. received $50,000 for school security equipment.
• Metropolitan School District of Martinsville Schools received $49,612.80 for school security equipment.
• Spencer-Owen Community Schools received $30,000 for school security equipment and to employ an SRO.
The information above was provided by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
©2014 the Herald-Times (Bloomington, Ind.)
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