Troy City Schools receives state grant for security, safety upgrades

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The security camera and entry system outside Troy High School is one of many safety and security protocols already being used in the Troy City Schools. A state grant will allow the district to make more upgrades in the near future.

TROY— Troy City Schools have been selected to receive state funding support for physical safety and security upgrades as part of the latest round of Ohio’s K-12 School Safety Grant Program.

The district received a grant of $794,625, which will be split among its nine buildings, based on needed safety and security upgrades.

“Student and staff safety is a top priority for us at the Troy City Schools,” said Assistant Superintendent Michael Moore, who spearheaded the project. “We are incredibly grateful to receive this grant and will be diligent in using it to make necessary safety and security upgrades to our schools.”

A total of $100,000 will be spent on Troy High School, Troy Junior High School, Concord Elementary School, Cookson Elementary School, Forest Elementary School and Hook Elementary School. The Van Cleve Sixth Grade building will receive $91,500 in grades, $52,750 will be spent at Kyle Elementary School and $50,375 will be spent at Heywood Elementary School.

“We worked closely with the Troy Police Department to determine what our greatest areas of need are,” Moore said. “We had different areas of need in all of our schools, so we distributed the money based on those needs. All of our schools will be safer places for our students and staff members as a result of this grant.”

Building security upgrades will include: lock control upgrades for some of our buildings, duress alarms in our buildings, GPS systems for our bus fleet, video/camera upgrades in our buildings and security film for the entrances to our buildings.

A total of $112 million was allocated for the fourth and fifth rounds of the grant program by the Ohio General Assembly as part of House Bill 45, which was signed by Governor Mike DeWine last month. The investment more than doubles the initial allotment of $105 million for the program provided by Ohio’s operating budget and the American Rescue Plan Act.

“When we created the K-12 School Safety Grant Program, we expected that the need for funding would far exceed the amount of money available, but I vowed to go back to the legislature and ask for more,” Governor DeWine said in a press release. “Now, with the generous support of the Ohio General Assembly, I’m proud to announce that every single qualifying school that applied for a grant will receive funding.”