Gov. Dannel Malloy announced Friday that $5 million in state grants are now available to municipalities for school security improvements.
Malloy said the state needs “to get resources out to the cities and towns that have begun work to modernize their security infrastructure and ramp up safety procedures.”
Administered by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), the Department of Education (SDE), and the Department of Construction Services (DCS), the funding will go to schools with the most need — buildings with little or no existing security infrastructure located in school districts that are struggling financially.
A press release issued by Malloy’s office after Friday’s announcement said two additional rounds of funding, both $5 million, are expected in the next year.
The grants will reimburse municipalities for part of the costs associated with making safety and security improvements in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
That subject has been a recurring topic throughout the lower Naugatuck Valley in the months since the shooting.
The city of Ansonia, for instance, has included $525,000 for school security improvements in a $4.9 million referendum scheduled for June 25.
During its budget process, Seymour toyed with the idea of including $377,000 to put school resource officers in each of its schools, but held off on the plans to see what kind of state funding may be available.
School security reviews are also ongoing in Derby and Shelton.
