Centerville and Beavercreek City Schools each will receive $200,000, to be divided between multiple elementary and middle schools.
Beavercreek’s Fairbrook, Main, Parkwood, Shaw and Valley elementary schools, plus Ankeney Middle School, each will get $33,333, primarily for security camera upgrades, school officials said. In Centerville, the Primary South and Driscoll elementary schools plus all three middle schools — Magsig, Tower Heights and Watts — are each receiving grants, with the amounts ranging from $31,600 to $47,490.
“The safety of our students and staff is a priority for us, and we are thrilled to receive these additional funds so we can continue to improve security measures in our schools,” Jon Wesney, Centerville Schools’ Director of Business Operations. “We applied for grants for all 12 of our schools and are fortunate to have five of those grants fulfilled. Our plan is to enhance the security of our exterior entrances, so our next step is to look into the grant details and determine how we can use this funding to make the biggest impact.”
Other local recipients include Bradford Elementary School in Miami County ($100,000), the Dayton Leadership Academies charter school ($77,810), and Dayton Tech Design High School ($3,523).
Ninety-eight schools in 27 counties will implement safety upgrades with funding from Ohio’s competitive K-12 School Safety Grant Program, through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. To be eligible, schools must complete a “vulnerability assessment” and a grant application, which is scored to help determine grant winners.
“I care deeply about every child in Ohio, and this will help ensure that more students are learning in an environment where they can feel safe and secure,” Governor Mike DeWine said. “Today’s kids are tomorrow’s leaders, and we applaud the school districts that are proactively looking for ways to protect both their students and staff.”
Last year, 27 higher education institutions in Ohio also received grants to fund security enhancements on their campuses through the same grant program.
“School safety is largely about prevention and planning, and these grants will help schools increase their efforts,” said OFCC Executive Director Cheryl J. Lyman. “We appreciate the Ohio legislature providing the funding and look forward to their continued support as we work to assist more schools across the state in the future.”
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