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Schools to get funds for safety

All Pennsylvania public school districts will see more state dollars — a minimum of $25,000 more — in mid-March to be used for school safety measures, senators said Wednesday.

With the start of school around the corner, four senators, including Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Cambria, updated ongoing plans to increase state help for school security after February’s Parkland, Fla., school shooting.

The money to be distributed through School Safety and Security Grant Program will be an annual line item in the state budget and adjusted annually depending on state audits of how the funding is used by schools to improve security.

Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumber­land, said the total amount of school security funding in the state budget last year ($8.5 million) is less than one-tenth the amount to be distributed in 2019.

“It really was a bipartisan effort. We achieved something substantial,” he said. “It’s a marketplace of ideas in the Senate. We came up with things, but we are not resting on our laurels.”

While the minimum per school has been set at $25,000, that’s only a relatively small slice of the total $60 million in new dollars designated for the grant program. The senators set March 18 as the target date for deciding the criteria for distributing the lion’s share of funding among the 500 districts statewide.

Langerholc is a member of the School Safety and Security Committee, which is collecting data to aid in that process.

The committee has surveyed a cross section of school superintendents in his 35th Senatorial District with the question, “What can we do as legislators to assist you?” he asked.

“The key thing they talked about was the mental health aspect,” he said.

Act 44 of 2018 created the School Safety and Security Committee under the Pennsyl­vania Commission of Crime and Delinquency. It consists of representatives from various state departments, behavioral health professionals, local law enforcement and school officials.

The committee’s next meeting is Aug. 29. The criteria for distributing all the funding is on the agenda for that meeting, Langerholc said.

“We allocated $60 million. … Every district will see dollars and a minimum of $25,000 with other grants awarded based on their needs.”

“At least in my district, there is a need seen for addressing mental health services — funding for more guidance counselors, assess­ment, school functions and social workers,” he said.

Other state-acceptable uses of the funding include “equipment” and “training” categories. The intent is for districts to install cameras and secure entrances.

Answering questions from media, Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said the arming of school personnel is a separate piece of legislation currently in the House of Representatives.

The Pennsylvania Senate passed an arming teachers measure by a 28-22 vote last June. The author of that bill is state Sen. Donald White, R-Indiana.

“I don’t know whether House will be addressing that bill as we go forward,” Costa said. “White’s bill is designed to give teachers the option, and it’s targeted to rural schools where response time is slow. The intent was to have someone on site to respond immediately. It’s a ‘may,’ not a ‘shall’ bill. I don’t know if I’m completely on board with that idea. But it may serve as somewhat of a deterrent to potential shooters,” he said. “And it’s not about arming every teacher; it’s about arming a trained employee.”

Mirror Staff Writer Russ O’Reilly is at 946-7435.

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