School safety funds
Nearly half of $100 million in state grants yet to be spent.
MADISON - Nearly half of the money set aside this year by lawmakers for Wisconsin schools to beef up security in the wake of a Florida school shooting will likely be left over, pushing state officials and lawmakers to find ways to spend it.
Private and public schools have requested grants to fund $56.6 million worth of projects to upgrade safety measures after Gov. Scott Walker pushed lawmakers to create a $100 million grant program within the Department of Justice in response to a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February.
But with $43.4 million left over, if all requested projects are funded, Attorney General Brad Schimel is crafting new ways to spend the money.
“We’ve got ideas about what to do with the balance of it,” Schimel told reporters last week. “Because the Legislature controls the purse strings, we’ll work with the Legislature to develop a plan going forward.”
Schimel said DOJ, which he oversees, may offer schools another opportunity to seek more funding but he noted 94% of public schools, at least, had applied by the June 8 deadline.
He also said the department may use the money to fund safety training at schools, instead of asking staff from a number of schools to travel to one training session outside of their areas, which is more costly for schools.
Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for DOJ, said Thursday the next phase of the grant program “will take training for school staff and community safety partners even further and implement a statewide threat assessment program, which focuses on identifying and addressing mental health and other issues
that may lead a student to violence.”
He said the department will continue to consult with education and safety officials to develop the program.
Walker unveiled the legislation in March after a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle killed 17 at a high school in Parkland.
The governor signed the measure two days after marchers nationally — including thousands in Madison and Milwaukee — demonstrated to demand gun control, but Walker argued that gun violence wasn’t the right focus.
State schools Superintendent Tony Evers on Friday sent a letter to Schimel and the leaders of the Legislature’s finance committee asking that the committee shift the rest of the money toward expanding mental health services in schools — grants for which the Department of Public Instruction provides.
But DPI and Koremenos disagree about whether that committee can move the money without the full Legislature’s approval.
Evers said schools are seeking more in grant funding for mental health programs, training for staff to address substance abuse problems and to hire social workers.
“These are opportunities to immediately meet the needs of schools and students and fully fund our shared commitment to student and family mental health,” Evers wrote.
Koremenos said mental health training “has been the cornerstone of DOJ’s grant program from Day 1” and will continue to be part of the grant program in the future.
He said because the $100 million is one-time funding, it would be “fiscally irresponsible” to put money toward programs that reimburse districts for staff salaries.
Koremenos also said it was “quite disappointing” to receive the letter from Evers “out of the blue” last week, rather than receive a private request for a meeting or a phone call.
“We have consulted with his staff in person and over the phone regularly throughout this process,” he said. “They have been useful partners in this program and we hope that they will continue to be going forward. It is unfortunate that Superintendent Evers decided to interject his campaign into this important work.”
Evers is one of eight Democrats seeking to challenge Walker this fall in Walker’s bid for a third term. The Aug. 14 primary will determine which Democrat will face Walker.
But Tom McCarthy, spokesman for the DPI, said the department did place a phone call to DOJ’s Office of School Safety and was under the impression the letter would be welcomed.
McCarthy said he didn’t anticipate the request would cause “anger and resentment” given the bipartisan support for the programs they proposed to receive the money.
He said the programs, put in place by the current state budget, have been more popular than anticipated.
“This is a disappointing situation,” McCarthy said. “We have districts, private businesses and Wisconsin communities asking for help from the state to implement evidence-based mental health supports that would improve school safety . ... We’re simply asking for the DOJ to use a portion of their leftover funds to put those solutions into place before the next school year begins.”
Thus far, Schimel has awarded $16.5 million worth of funding for projects, which could include building more secure entrances, installing cameras, or providing safety training.
Officials with Milwaukee Public Schools are seeking $3.1 million from DOJ to fund safety projects.
A spokeswoman with MPS said the funding would pay for staff training and physical security upgrades.