Northeast Ohio schools to receive millions in state security funding

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Gov. Mike DeWine announced nearly $50 million in school security funding has been awarded to more than 1,000 schools throughout the state, impacting dozens of school districts in Northeast Ohio.

The Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) was awarded $1.6 million, the most of any district in all of Ohio.

“With the start of the new school year quickly approaching, we want students, staff, and parents to know that we care about school safety, and we’re working every day to make sure that rural, urban, and suburban schools alike have the safety and security resources they need,” Governor DeWine said in a Tuesday news release. “Helping schools pay for important security improvements is just one component of our comprehensive school safety approach that also supports the mental wellbeing of our kids and the work of local law enforcement to prevent crime.”

The Governor’s office said the funding can be used for upgrades to surveillance cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, and visitor badging upgrades.

“I hope to see the schools utilize that funding for the children, and that it goes in the right direction,” said CMSD parent Andrea Lisaula. “The [kids] are restricted because of all the violence.”

Michael Gosha has a 3-year-old daughter; the reality of sending her off to school has started to creep in.

“We were wanting to put her in school a little earlier but we decided because of things like COVID and school shooting... it makes things a little scary.”

The top five grant amounts awarded to local school districts are listed below:

• Cleveland Municipal School District: $1.6 Million
• Akron City Schools: $650,000
• Medina City Schools: $550,000
• Willoughby-Eastlake: $409,563
• Cuyahoga Falls City Schools: $389,915

The complete list of grants can be found here.

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