Huron, Vermilion schools awarded several hundred thousand dollars of grant money for safety
HURON and VERMILION – Students and teachers from Huron City Schools and Vermilion Local Schools will soon be safer when they are in their classrooms. Both districts were awarded $100,000 per building in school safety grants from the State of Ohio.
The grants are part of Governor Mike DeWine’s K-12 School Safety Grant Program. Statewide, 708 schools in 57 counties received $57.8 million in grant funding to enhance student and staff safety.
Huron City Schools received $400,000 for upgrades at all four of their buildings. In a press release, the district stated that the money will be used for structural improvements as well as equipment upgrades.
Superintendent Dr. James Tatman says that despite the consideration of closing one of the district’s four buildings for the 2023-2024 school year, the grant money awarded for the closed building can still be used. He stated, “The grant does require district confirmation that the enhancements will go to a school anticipated to be in use for at least 5 years. With our current work of consolidation, use of the funds for the building closing may still be allowable for items that can be transferred to a different building.”
Vermilion Local Schools received $300,000 for upgrades at all three of their buildings.
Superintendent Dr. David Hile says that the money will primarily be used on a new panic alarm system. The “state of the art” system will be tied into their surveillance camera system, their door system, and the local 911 center.
“It will give us the ability to empower each of our employees to put our buildings in lockdown from their cell phones or strategically located panic buttons, which will then automatically inform 911 dispatchers of the emergency and its location. The system will also be linked to lockdown strobes and sirens that will tell everyone both inside the building and out that the building is in a lockdown,” Dr. Hile explained in a statement to Huron Insider. “This will allow faster reaction times by staff and students because they won’t be waiting for an intercom announcement that, depending on the situation, may never happen. First responders will also have immediate and direct access to our surveillance camera system and our door locking system.”
Dr. Hile also said that the district is also going to install 14 millimeter plastic film on all first floor windows. He says that this will prevent windows from shattering and significantly delay an attacker’s entry into the building, which would give students and staff more time to escape the area.
This article was written by Nate Hinners. Contact Nate at nhinners@huroninsider.com.
PHOTO CREDIT: Wokandapix via Pixabay.