The Bayless School District is receiving more than $400,000 in federal funding aimed at preventing school violence, one of only three school districts in the state to receive funds.
Bayless is getting most of the $532,265 the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) School Violence Prevention Program awarded through U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen. The other two districts to receive the money, both in the Eastern District of Missouri that Jensen oversees, are Maries County R-1 and Schuyler County R-1 school districts.
Maries County is receiving $88,568, and Schuyler is receiving $26,951.
Nationally, the COPS Office SVPP awarded nearly $50 million in school safety funding. SVPP provides up to 75-percent funding for school safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools and school grounds.
The amounts awarded in Eastern Missouri are:
Bayless Consolidated School District – $416,746
Maries County R-1 School District – $88,568
Schuyler County R-1 – $26,951
“With the new school year underway, the safety of our nation’s students remains paramount,” said COPS Office director Phil Keith in a news release. “Although this school year may look different at the start, now is the ideal time to make preparations to enhance school safety for when all of our children are back in the classroom.”
The Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (STOP School Violence Act of 2018) gave the COPS Office authority to provide awards directly to states, units of local government, Indian tribes and public agencies such as school districts and law enforcement agencies to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the jurisdiction of the grantee through evidence-based school safety programs.
The three awards announced Friday can be used for coordination with law enforcement; training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence; metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures; technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and other measures that provide a significant improvement in security.
Bayless Superintendent Ron Tucker has previously spoken to The Call about the small district’s safety issues with students walking between buildings during the school day.
The full list of SVPP awards can be found here: https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2020AwardDocs/svpp/Award_List.pdf.
In addition to the school safety grants announced Friday, the COPS Office School Safety Working Group, which is composed of representatives from eight national law enforcement organizations, has identified 10 essential actions that can be taken by schools, school districts and law enforcement agencies to help prevent critical incidents involving the loss of life or injuries in our nation’s schools and to respond rapidly and effectively when incidents do occur.
The Ten Essential Actions to Improve School Safety are applicable to school shootings as well as to other areas of school safety, including natural disasters and traumatic events such as student suicide. Adopting policies and practices based on the recommendations in this publication can help make school communities safer and save lives.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 134,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance.
