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Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel continues to promote school safety, issuing grants to schools all over the state. After the Parkland shooting, Schimel and the Wisconsin legislature established the Office of School Safety within the state Department of Justice (DOJ). From that, Attorney General Schimel — working with key stakeholders such as law enforcement, school officials, and mental health professionals — has delivered school safety grants to local school districts to improve existing safety measures and even install equipment, such as key card access points and locks for classroom doors.
The DOJ has announced another round of $1.9 million in grants going to 19 school districts across the state.
As seen on ABC 19:
Attorney General Brad Schimel announced Wednesday a list of 19 schools and school districts that will be awarded more than $1.9 million as part of the school safety grant program. Schimel announced the 19 schools and school districts will receive $1,943,417 which will be spent on building safety improvements, as well as training for faculty and staff. “School officials and law enforcement share the responsibility in keeping our kids safe when they leave their homes every day,” said Attorney General Schimel. “These grant funds will establish a meaningful way to improve school safety through physical improvements to school buildings, and a focus on mental health training for school faculty.”
As seen on Fox 11:
Several Northeast Wisconsin schools and districts received their share of state school safety grants Thursday. … The Appleton School District has already been making improvements to their schools. Judy Baseman, the Superintendent for the District, said that along with the improvements to schools security, each staff member, including the schools’ resource officers, will be going through trauma training to better connect with students.
As seen in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Lake Country School will receive $10,475 for school safety grants. It plans to install pillars in front of the school to keep cars from getting too close, stickers to help law enforcement identify classrooms from the outside in case of an active shooter incident to free those who are locked down, new door locks and an upgraded buzz-in system that has a camera that allows the school’s secretaries to see who’s buzzing in at the front of the school. ‘We’re pleased with the grant, fortunate we got it in and got it approved,’ said Lake Country School Superintendent Mark Lichte.
As seen in the Cap Times:
The funds will be used to provide interior door locks for classrooms and building entries, install shatterproof film for glassed-in entry areas, and security, surveillance and communications systems.
To be eligible, schools have to submit plans to provide all school staff with training to identify students with mental health needs before the end of the next school year, Schimel said.
