Buckeye Local Schools announces how school safety grant will be used

YORK TWP. — Buckeye Local Schools Curriculum Director Bridget Elias said that the district plans to use its recently awarded Ohio K-12 school safety grant for concrete barriers, hardware for doors, phones, radios and cameras during the board of education meeting on Tuesday. Buckeye Primary School received $53,060 during the fourth round of funding, which was awarded Feb. 2. According to a media release from Gov. Mike DeWine, the funding can only be used for physical security expenses, and districts can receive up to $100,000 per building. Buckeye Director of Operations Jon List said the district will use the grant to pay for portions of safety upgrades since only one school has been awarded funding so far. He said one of the biggest initiatives is upgrading the district's telecommunications system to make it more reliable. "That will also be able to allow us from a safety standpoint to communicate throughout the course of the day," he said. Buckeye Superintendent Jeff Harrison said the district has a safety committee made up of law enforcement, parents and community members. The group talks about potential safety improvements that could be made at the schools, and many of the upgrades that are funded by the grant, such as the barriers in front of doors, were initiated by the committee. "This is where we're seeing the fruits of that labor," he said. "We'll just continue to secure our campus." The district has applied for funding in every round for all four schools but did not receive a grant until the most recent round, Harrison said. Buckeye applied for the fifth round of funding right before the fourth round was announced. "Now (the state) has secured the money to provide any school who applies for it, so we are strongly anticipating the intermediate, junior high and high school will also receive some of that funding," he said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.