colorado bus

Douglas County, Site of STEM School Highlands Ranch Shooting, Approves Millions in School Safety Funding

County commissioners are putting the funding toward physical security improvements and some mental health programming.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • February 03, 2020

Eight months after a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch claimed the life of student Kendrick Castillo, officials in the county where the shooting took place have allocated millions of dollars to go toward physical security improvements and mental health programs.

The Board of Douglas County Commissioners approved $6.8 million in funding at their Jan. 14 meeting, according to ColoradoPolitics. The county district has 91 public, 15 independent and eight private schools.

Citing confidential budget information, the county left a blank page in their funding agreement that described where $6 million of the funding would be headed, though it is allocated for school security grants.

The remaining $823,182 is being set aside for a mental health project, some of which will include conducting a school “climate and culture survey” and creating a social-emotional learning curriculum, according to ColoradoPolitics. About $250,000 is going toward mental health training, and $204,000 is being used to pay teachers overtime for attending trainings.

In return for the funding, the district is required to report the impact of the grant and disclose if they used additional funds for the school safety programs.

County commissioners have already pledged a total $13.3 million in school security funding overall. Three million dollars are paying to employ 15 additional school resource officers, and $1.3 million is available for “innovation/emerging technology,” ColoradoPolitics reported.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 77% of Americans Support Gun Detection Technology in Schools, Workplaces, and Houses of Worship

    More than three-quarters of Americans (77.4%) believe gun detection technology should be deployed in schools, workplaces, and other public spaces, according to new survey data released recently. The national survey shows strong support for incorporating camera-based gun detection into existing video surveillance systems. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Beyond Containment: Redefining Cybersecurity and the Digital Campus at Washington College

    In the aftermath of a ransomware attack, Washington College stood at a crossroads — its legacy defined by centuries of academic excellence, but its digital infrastructure revealing the fragile underbelly of modern campus operations. Read Now

  • California School District Protects Campuses With Cloud-Managed Access Control

    Established in 1901 in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mountain View Los Altos High School District (MVLA) serves 4,400 students across the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. It houses two award-winning high school campuses commonly ranked in the top 1 percent nationally; it also hosts a continuation high school, an adult education campus, an alternative academy for arts and technology, and a nontraditional high school program held at an innovation center. Read Now

Most   Popular