Missouri school districts apply for safety grant

School districts across the state have until next Friday to apply for a grant to boost school safety. More than 200 districts are expected to apply and some of them could get as much as $15,000.

California District Superintendent, Dwight Sanders, said his district is filling out the application.

“If you aren’t constantly working to develop a safer district, then you’re going backwards. So, it’s extremely important — we want to ensure that our students and our staff are safe,” said Sanders.

With three schools and a little more than 1,300 students, the California School District can apply for $10,00 0 in safety grant money.

Sanders said he would use the money to automate the school crisis plan, so teachers can get instruction on smart devices among other improvements.

“The only thing they have to do with the grant money is show that is connected to increasing safety in their school districts. So, it could be anything as long as they can articulate that it is directly related to improving school safety,” said Kara Sanders with the Missouri School Boards’ Association.

The MSBA will award the $400,000 in grant money. Not every school district applying for the grant is guaranteed the money. The school districts will have to clearly articulate and show the need for safety improvements in their schools.

“To know that that grant is available and is something that we can apply for that will help facilitate some of those changes is exciting,” said Superintendent Sanders.

The grant application is due Nov. 13. The MSBA will announce the districts getting the awards by Dec. 1.