MPS gets nearly $700K for safety upgrades
Tracy, Dawson also get funding from state
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MARSHALL -- Business Director Dion Caron was thrilled to share that the Marshall Public School District is being awarded more than $682,000 in school safety grants from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
"Marshall Public Schools has received very good news," Caron said. "We did receive funds for two of our five safety grants. Two of our buildings -- Marshall Middle School and West Side Elementary -- were awarded funds, for a total of $682,360."
The MDE announced on Monday that 90 Minnesota public school districts or charter schools were recipients of grants to be used for security and violence prevention improvements at 123 building sites across the state. The MDE received a total of 1,187 complete applications, requesting $255.5 million -- more than 10 times the available amount of funding. The Tracy Area School District received $500,000, and Dawson-Boyd got more than $335,500.
"To apply for the grants, you had to submit separate grant applications for each site," Caron said. "We submitted a grant application for all five sites. We got two schools, which is pretty awesome. We're very fortunate."
Marshall Middle School is receiving $490,670 and another $191,690 is going to West Side.
"A top priority of our in the House is to improve school safety and it is good to see not only one, but two successful applications in Marshall," Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said. "The competition was strong for this grant funding, so congratulations to those involved in bringing these grants home. I look forward to seeing progress on the local security upgrades and will continue working to address this issue to keep our children safe at school."
Swedzinski said that the Minnesota Legislature approved and Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law $25 million last session in capital investment funds that schools could apply for to make physical safety improvements.
MPS Superintendent Scott Monson said there were conversations about needs and current trends at each of the district's five sites.
"We discussed options with staff and then submitted nearly $1.5 million in total school safety grant applications," Monson said. "These are grant dollars. As such, they do not need to be paid back and will have no factor on our expenditures or taxes to our residents. More importantly, the projects that will be funded will address some of the safety and security needs in our district and help us take steps to improve the safety of our students and staff."
Caron said the grant applications that were submitted by the district focused on "hardening" the exteriors and entrances to the school sites.
"This includes video check-in systems, bullet-resistant glass and fortified doors, updated FOB systems, physical structure changes to the entrances and visitor management systems, among other projects," he said. "So we're very excited that we were able to get two of the sites (awarded)."
The MDE stated that the funds may be used to pre-design, design, construct, furnish and equip school facilities, including renovating and expanding existing buildings.
"Students and teachers clearly need more support to ensure our kids are safe," Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said in a news release. "When we have more than 1,000 schools asking for over $250 million in funding to secure their buildings, we must respond with urgency. The school safety grants announced (Monday) only scratch the surface. A more comprehensive approach, including efforts to improve school climate, expand mental health services and enact common-sense gun safety measures is needed."
Caron said the grants are especially significant in light of the fact that the past two referendums had been voted down by district voters.
"It's exciting because it's something that we had asked for in our referendum," he said. "Now part of what was in our past referendum is funded. It still leaves a lot left, but it helps take care of some things at West Side and Marshall Middle School -- things that we weren't able to get passed. There are still a lot of needs, but this will definitely help."