LEXINGTON, Va. – As students head back to school and back to routines, school security is on the minds of parents. School divisions have spent the past few months making upgrades.
Those efforts are getting a boost from millions of dollars in state grants.
Rockbridge County received $185,000 in school security equipment grants from the Virginia Department of Education, just a small piece of the $12 million given to divisions across the Commonwealth.
The funds are being used for gunshot detection systems at the middle and high schools and GPS units for buses.
“Previously, when we didn’t have that on our school buses, parents didn’t know where or when a bus would show up at home. We have a schedule, but sometimes buses run late,” said Randy Walters, chief operations officer for Rockbridge County Public Schools. “Parents, especially if students are arriving at home without a parent there, like to know when their child is home and when the bus drops them off or when the bus is coming.”
Walters said Rockbridge County applies for the grants each year, but the amount can vary. He said the previous year, the division received $40,000 for handheld radios and other smaller initiatives. School divisions are eligible to receive up to $250,000.
In the 10 News viewing area, Craig County, Danville and Lynchburg schools received that amount. Henry County was close, at $244,000. School officials there said the grants are being used to upgrade surveillance cameras at the division’s two middle schools and one elementary school.
“This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to a secure environment,” a school official told 10 News.
Back in Rockbridge County, Walters said the grants are just one sign of how the division is working to keep schools safer.
“Everything from upgrading every camera system that we have, adding additional cameras at our schools,” Walters said. “We implemented two-way radios that are on the digital 911 system, so we have direct contact with our deputies in the 911 center in an emergency.”
Also new this year is a division coordinator whose sole focus is the safety of the students.