School grants

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-18th, recently announced a total of $130,902 in state grants to improve safety and security in area schools.

“These grant dollars will enable schools to fund safety programs, hire security personnel and purchase security-related equipment,” Boscola said. “I’m pleased with this round of funding and will continue to seek state support to help our school boards and administrators make our schools safer and more secure.”

The statewide grants were announced by the state Department of Education following a report issued by the recently established Pennsylvania School Safety Task Force. Boscola backed legislation that put the statewide task force in place. The task force reviews school safety procedures statewide and makes recommendations for improvements.

Local schools receiving funds include:

$43,734 for Northampton Area School District (equipment and a violence prevention program)

$24,984 for Bethlehem Area School District (equipment)

$25,000 for Easton School District (equipment)

$24,954 for East Penn School District (equipment)

$12,230 for Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Arts (violence prevention program)

Boscola said another round of grant funds will be coming from the new $60 million School Safety and Security Grant Program she supported in this year’s state fiscal budget. Those grants will be administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

“I am pleased to see schools embracing efforts to upgrade security and improve school safety,” Boscola said. “I am confident that state dollars will continue to supplement their efforts to assure that our kids can learn in a safe and secure environment.”