Local News: State grants benefit local school districts (6/3/23)

Dec 20, 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Three New Madrid County school districts will upgrade their security efforts with funds from Missouri’s newly created School Safety Grant Program.

The Portageville, Risco and Gideon School Districts each received a portion of the funding available through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“Improving the safety and security of our schools is an issue we can all support, and these grants help ensure our schools remain safe environments for Missouri children to learn,” Gov. Mike Parson said in announcing the awarding of the grants. “While threats of violence are something we never want to see in our classrooms, we must be prepared and have proper resources and response plans in place.”

“We are always trying to do more for school safety,” said Portageville Superintendent Michael Allred.

The District will use the $100,000 it received in grant funds for a variety of needs including the purchase of automatic external defibrillators which will be used on the school buses and during school trips. The District will also buy bleeding control kits with a portion of the funding.

To improve security inside the school, Allred said the District plans to add a locking system for classroom doors.

“It is a locking device that goes at the bottom of door that locks into the floor. So in an active shooter situation not only can a teacher lock the door but then lock the door into the floor,” he explained.

Other security purchases will include hand-held metal detector wands along with walk-through metal detectors. Also the District plans to use funds for additional chain-link fencing and to upgrade intercom buzzer alarms.

“We are very fortunate and thankful that we got this grant and hope to put it to good use,” Allred said. “These improvements will definitely make our teachers feel safer.”

Risco Superintendent Amy Baker also said the Risco School District was fortunate to receive $50,000 in grant monies. She pointed out competition was steep with 400 districts and charter schools applying for funds and only 160 grants awarded.

“This grant will fund a lot of improvements to make our campus safer for the kids,” Baker added.

Like Portageville, the Risco School District will purchase AEDs for the school buildings and locking devices for classroom doors. Funds will provide additional cameras and a buzzer system to limit access to the school gymnasium and the addition of ballistic film to tint windows.

Security is a concern voiced by teachers, parents and the community according to Gideon Superintendent James Breece and the $49,967 the District received from the state will help to address that.

Grant money will be used for fencing for the school playgrounds and a new system will be put in place to provide limited access to buildings. Also Breece said additional security cameras will be purchased and the hard drives of the computers used to maintain the security footage will be upgraded.

“Now we will be able to address some of the things we needed to do and we won’t have to pull money from somewhere else,” he said about the grant funding. “For a district like ours with older buildings it is welcomed money.”

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