The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is tasked with distributing the funds. The money is part of the School Security Equipment Grants, which were created to keep visitors, faculty and students safe while they are in public schools. The money will be used to purchase CCTV systems for classes and buses, notification systems, access control points, and other upgrades to their security. Poster printing is sometimes used to help with security protocols like these.
Close to $200,000 has been set aside to work on upgrades at Jackson Davis Elementary School and Moody Middle School. Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam commented about the grant:
“This year, we have doubled the amount of assistance available to help Virginia school divisions protect our students and the educators, administrators, and staff dedicated to preparing them for success. We remain focused on supporting students and their families in navigating the pandemic.”
The General Assembly approved a bill that doubled the amount of money in the grant program. The Assembly also increased the maximum amount each school division can receive to $250,000.
The criteria for receiving money for this grant is designed to prioritize schools that have higher needs for modernized security systems, and concentrates on schools that have experienced a high number of security offences, and on schools unable to afford the new equipment on their own.