INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana schools are getting nearly $29.8 million to enhance security measures across their districts.
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced 474 schools were approved for the state grants on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
The bulk of that money is dedicated to putting more school resource officers in the schools. More than $19 million of this school safety grant will be invested in hiring more of them or paying for those already employed at the schools.
Additional funding from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is the reason the schools were approved for individual grants.
Some districts will receive as much as $100,000.
That money can be used for several things, including new safety equipment, support services for parents and students, and updating the design of schools to make them more secure.
All township schools in Indianapolis except Indiana Public Schools and Decatur Township are getting money.
Wayne Township will use its $100,000 for their school resource officers, while Pike Township will recommend hiring three more officers.
The Beech Grove Community Schools superintendent said they plan to add one more SRO, bringing their total to four officers on staff. The district can do this because they received double the amount of money than they have in years past.
“Our budget has been tight here in Beech Grove,” superintendent Laura Hammack said. “This has allowed for us to have school resource officers in place. Quite honestly, we would not have been able to extend our force to four if we didn't have the increase in the allocation.”
The superintendent said they typically receive $50,000 in school safety funding. This year, they received $100,000.
A breakdown of the schools that will receive funding and the amount they're getting can be found here.