(NETWORK INDIANA) Schools looking to beef up safety will have more money to do it with, but it still might not be enough.
Legislators allowed school systems to ask voters for a tax hike for safety expenses. The new state budget adds five-million dollars a year to a school safety grant fund. That’s an increase of more than a third, but state school superintendent Jennifer McCormick says it still might not be enough.
She notes legislators are making charter and private schools eligible, while requiring them to join traditional schools in submitting safety plans to the state.
And McCormick says changes could still be too expensive for smaller districts. Legislators voted to create a tiered matching system which sets a lower bar for smaller schools seeking federal money than the larger one.
McCormick says some small schools won’t be able to afford even that.
