Elkhart County schools receiving state safety grants

Sep. 19—INDIANAPOLIS — Elkhart County school districts received more than $553,000 for safety upgrades through Indiana's Secured School Safety Grant Program.

Goshen Community Schools will receive $60,750. Goshen Junior High School Principal and school safety coordinator Jan Baker said the district has been applying for a number of years, using the money to purchase surveillance cameras, update servers, increase radios, improve antenna and tower systems, and provide safety and security training for the district.

This year, Baker said the primary focus will be updating the public address system across districts.

"Enhancing our PA systems is a crucial step toward ensuring real-time communication during emergencies, both in individual schools and throughout the district," Baker said. "Effective communication is one of the most critical aspects of school safety. In the event of an emergency — whether it's a weather-related event, security situation, or any other critical incident — the ability to relay clear and immediate instructions to staff and students can make all the difference in maintaining a safe environment. Upgrading these systems will enable us to respond faster and with greater precision, ensuring that our schools are well-prepared for any potential scenarios."

In addition to the PA system updates, the safety grant will also support other initiatives aimed at enhancing the overall security of GCS schools such as ALICE Training for students and staff, the visitor management system Raptor, the anonymous reporting app StopIt, and SchoolGuard 911, Baker added. Baker said the grant is significantly less than the district has received in the past but still helpful.

Wa-Nee Community Schools and Concord Community Schools will both receive the highest amounts in the county, at $81,000 each. Both grants will go toward funding school resource officers. Concord Superintendent Dan Funston said his district is receiving about $20,000 less than last year.

Wa-Nee Community Schools Superintendent Scot Croner, who also noted a reduction in funding this year, said the funding was reduced due to an increase in the number of schools participating.

Fairfield Community Schools' $50,817 grant will also support the district's school resource officer salary, as will Middlebury Community Schools' grant at $69,702.

Other Elkhart County districts receiving the grant include Baugo Community Schools at $44,550, Bethany Christian School at $28,350, Elkhart Community Schools at $61,884, The Crossing National Inc. at $25,861, and Trinity Lutheran Church & School at $49,999.

Indiana has allocated $187 million for school safety matching grants since the program started in 2013.