How Northeast Ohio school districts are spending state funding for student safety and security

AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) - As of February of this year, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced more than $173 million in grants awarded to school districts to improve safety and security.

After Monday’s shooting at a Tennessee elementary school, 19 News reached out to more than a dozen local grant recipients for an update on how they’re using the money.

Some districts, like Lakewood and Cleveland, shared said plans were in the works to upgrade or install certain equipment.

As of Tuesday morning, Akron Public Schools was the only district that confirmed it has spent its grant money; the district also provided a list of security upgrades attributed directly to the state grant.

According to spokesperson Mark Williamson, the district spent all of its $1.3 million in funding and then some. He said the district has invested about $4 million in student safety.

The list includes brand new metal detectors, book bag scanners, bags to secure student cell phones during school hours, along with upgrades to the district’s entire video surveillance system which spans 47 buildings.

“When I started my career 27 years ago, the primary focus was on academic outcomes. Now, the academic pieces is still the core of what we do, but it’s center stage [with] safety and security,” said Akron Public Schools’ Chief Operations Officer Steve Thompson.

He elaborated on the list of upgrades, noting that Akron police will be able to monitor the district’s surveillance cameras, giving them a better sense of where to go if they need to respond to an emergency. He said new software will also allow dispatchers to unlock school doors to let police inside, allowing students, faculty and staff to remain in lockdown situations.

Thompson spoke to 19 News just hours after the tragedy in Tennessee.

“I almost hate to admit this but it’s gaining some level of normalcy, which is scary beyond measure. We’re just becoming numb to it as a nation,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of things to try to secure the environment for our students and staff. From both an external threat and some challenges we’ve had from within the four walls of our own schools.”

Thompson’s full comments, which include a breakdown of safety upgrades, can be viewed in the social media post below:

Lakewood City Schools previously announced its plans for the $1 million it received during the most recent round of awards.

The district plans to upgrade the locks on classroom doors, install bulletproof windows at the high school cafeteria and add a signal booster to the radio network to improve communication between school resource officers and Lakewood police.

“Without a doubt, the most pressing issue in schools today is safety,” Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki said during a February news conference. “Not a day goes by that superintendents nationwide aren’t thinking about, planning and prioritizing how they can ensure they are doing enough to keep their students and staff safe….I hope all schools throughout Ohio will be as fortunate as we are today.”

In Cleveland, CMSD has been awarded $7 million as part of the program.

On Tuesday, spokesperson Roseann Canfora told 19 News the district is working on adding, repairing, and replacing cameras, crash doors, public address systems, and metal detectors.

To view the entire list of grant recipients, click here.

How the districts responded:

Akron Public Schools

Total Award: $1,365,974

Brand new, state-of-the-art metal detectors (some of which have arrived), state-of-the art book bag scanners (some have arrived), bags for securing student cell phones during school, upgrades to the entire video surveillance system covering 47 school buildings.

Cleveland Municipal School District

Total Award: $7,228,664

“The dollars are allocated per school and our Safety & Security Chief has a been working in partnership with operations and IT to add/repair/replace cameras, crash doors, PA systems, metal detector updates, etc.”

East Cleveland City School District

Total Award: $300,000

“A majority of the funds that were allocated to the District were awarded in the second round. Therefore, much of this is in the “intent to purchase or install.” We are upgrading camera systems at an elementary building, upgrading parking lot cameras at a shared lot that covers multiple buildings, an x-ray machine to be used at entry, and new radios and repeaters to be used across the district.”

Lakewood City School District

Total Award: $1,000,000

The district plans to upgrade the locks on classroom doors, install ballistic window film at the high school cafeteria and add a signal booster to the radio network to improve communication between school resource officers and Lakewood police.

“Without a doubt, the most pressing issue in schools today is safety,” Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki said during a February news conference. “Not a day goes by that superintendents nationwide aren’t thinking about, planning and prioritizing how they can ensure they are doing enough to keep their students and staff safe….I hope all schools throughout Ohio will be as fortunate as we are today.”

Maple Heights City School District

Total Award: $499,998

“So far we have been able to purchases additional security cameras, a student ID/visitor ID system for the district, desktop computers and laptops and software to support the systems, additional metal detectors, Halo bathroom sensors, and security monitors.”

Olmsted Falls City School District

Total Award: $500,000

“While we certainly respect your questions for more detailed information, we do not think it is wise to provide you with precise specifics. We can say that the district will spend all of the resources provided within the requirements of the grant, and that these funds will help improve our ability to communicate with law enforcement and each other, enhance our visitor check-in systems and provide additional resources to further improve the physical security and safety of our campuses.”

Solon City School District

Total Award: $625,000

“The funds the district has been awarded through Ohio’s K-12 School Safety Grant Program are being utilized for planned enhancements to school safety and security throughout the district.

For the safety of students and staff, and in accordance with Ohio Revised Code, we do not publicly disclose the details included in school safety and emergency management plans.”

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