Vance County Schools is looking at where to spend the more than $841,000 awarded to the school district as part of a statewide School Safety grant.
Rey Horner, VCS executive director of student services, said the money can be used for basic safety equipment like metal detectors, but also to implement training programs for students and to hire more resource officers.
The total amount of the grant is $841,270, Horner said in an interview that aired on TownTalk Tuesday.
The district’s secondary schools have metal detectors and also have designated SROs on campus, Horner said, but the hope is to put SROs at the elementary schools, too. There is currently one vacant SRO position, but Horner said Sheriff Curtis Brame agreed to provide one of his officers until the school district can hire a replacement.
“The goal is to provide an SRO at all of our schools,” Horner said, but he added it has been challenging so far to find qualified applicants. The grant money can be used for SROs, and Horner said the district has allocated $400,000 for additional SROs.
In light of the challenge of hiring SROs, Horner said the district has asked the Center for Safer Schools if it can use that money designated for SROs on other types of safety equipment.
“We’ve put in a request to reallocate (money) for cameras, 911 beepers – anything that can make our schools safer and more efficient,” Horner said.
There’s a plan to place additional metal detectors at the high school, and to gradually phase them in at elementary schools, he added, so students will be used to them and not feel threatened by them when they move to the middle school.
Protecting the physical safety of students and staff is of critical importance, and metal detectors are one way to filter dangerous items from being brought onto school campuses.
But medical safety also is a concern for school leaders. The schools already have automatic external defibrillators – or AEDs – but the goal is to place more than one at each campus.
In addition to equipment, Horner said the district is taking preventative measures to try to reduce students experiencing crises.
“A lot of the things that we’re seeing are coming from the outside to the inside of the school,” Horner explained. One program – Project ARROW – helps build students’ self-esteem and coping skills to deal with such issues as bullying and negative effects of social media.
Horner said Project ARROW is akin to life coaching for students, who, upon completion of the training, can render the same training to their peers.
Vance County Schools was one of 200 school districts and charter schools across the state that received part of the $74 million grant money.
Horner said the district is working hard to make sure the money is spent according to state guidelines. “With all things dealing with money, you have to be very particular,” he said. “We want to make sure it impacts the kids on the largest scale.”
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