Student safety is becoming more and more important in schools across Indiana. Nearly 200 school districts and 84 counties in Indiana will receive student safety funds in Safe Haven Grants totaling $3.3 million.

Besides safety funding, something new is being required of schools. For the first time this school year, every school district is required to have a trained school safety specialist. The General Assembly enacted this requirement and budgeted $1.5 million for training.

The Safe Haven Grants are designed to help keep kids safe as well as help them become better students and better citizens. Since 1997, $12 million has been invested in the Safe Haven program and each program is designed at the local level.

Locally, Warsaw Community Schools, Manchester Community Schools, Triton School Corp., Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. and Whitko Community Schools are all listed as Safe Haven Grant recipients.

Triton School Corp. Treasurer Janet Barker said the grant is administered through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. "We have not received the money yet, but I hear it's coming," Barker said Wednesday.

Triton Superintendent Rex Roth also said he didn't believe funds from the grant have been received yet. "We had the opportunity to apply for some additional funds," Roth said. "I think we applied for $10,000. We did get $2,000 to offset any expenses to incur with the training of our safety director."

To comply with new regulation requiring a trained school safety specialist, Triton School Corp. appointed Ted Chittum, Triton High School principal, as the safety director.

As for the additional funds, Roth said, part of those funds will be used for Triton's new security system installed this summer.

"I'm not sure if we received notification that the grant's been approved," Roth said. "I assume sometime in the near future (we'll receive funds from the grant)."

According to a press release from Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon, Triton is to receive $4,838 in Safe Haven funds.

Manchester Community Schools also is listed to receive funds from the Safe Haven Grant.

Assistant superintendent Kim Thurston said Manchester received Safe Haven money last year totaling $2,000. That money was used for an emergency and crisis intervention program.

"It's a collaborative effort," Thurston said of applying for Safe Haven funds. He said Manchester works with Wabash County and Wabash schools for Safe Haven funding. "We go together with the fund," Thurston said. Possible uses for the funds are still being discussed, such as security issues and "perhaps bomb-sniffing dogs."

Thurston said MSD of Wabash County already has applied for a Safe Haven Grant and Manchester is in the process of applying.

"We're still working with the state to see what would be an appropriate amount to apply for," Thurston said. "We don't have it nailed down yet."

According to O'Bannon's press release, MSD Wabash County is to receive $11,285.

Warsaw Community Schools is also listed as a Safe Haven Grant recipient.

"We have just received notification that we did receive some funding through the Safe Haven program for $26,590," Superintendent Lee Harman said. "We'll be using it primarily for security kind of equipment."

Harman said possibilities include keyless entry for Warsaw school buildings, cameras and additional radios.

"It can't be used for programming, so it will be used for things that will add to the security in our buildings," Harman said.

He also said Warsaw Police Chief Steve Foster will serve as WCS safety specialist.

Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. also received funds from the Safe Haven program.

Jeff France, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School assistant principal, safety specialist and athletic director, said the school corporation applied for the Safe Haven Grant last spring and did receive funds last year from the program. This year, France said, they received $9,366, which is close to what they received last year.

The funds will be used "in a very general way," including staff training, two-way radios and "perhaps some kind of a specialized key-coded lock so teachers have (better) access to the doors."

We're really going to look at what we need," France said. He also said emergency kits for each room may be purchased with the funds.

France underwent five days of training in June to comply with new regulations requiring each school district to have a trained school safety specialist.

Whitko Community Schools also expects to receive Safe Haven funds totaling $8,534. The Times-Union was unable to reach Superintendent William Worl.

Schools wishing more information may call Nikki Kincaid at the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute at 317-233-3340 or e-mail her at: [email protected] [[In-content Ad]]