Deadline extends on school safety training grants

In an effort to encourage more schools to take advantage of School Safety Training Grants, Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office has extended the application deadline.

Currently there is approximately $2.8 million in grant funding unclaimed.

DeWine announced in September that all Ohio schools — public, charted, nonpublic and schools operated by county boards of developmental disabilities — were eligible to receive a portion of the $12 million in grants made available through legislation to pay for school safety programs and training.

It can be spent on efforts such as training school resource officers and funding programs to help students struggling with mental health issues. Schools are required to work with local law enforcement to decide how to spend the grants.

According to a Nov. 2 news release from DeWine’s office, more than 1,700 Ohio schools and school districts qualified for grants awards ranging between $2,500 and $283,000. The amount was based on enrollment numbers.

As of the original application deadline of Nov. 1, only 63 percent of eligible schools had claimed their funds.

To encourage more time to claim their grant allotment, the deadline to apply has been extended to Nov. 30.

A list of schools who have not yet claimed a grant award can be found at www.bit.ly/2ARdyYj.

School administrators with questions on the grant allotment should email schoolsafetygrants@ohioattorneygeneral.gov or call 614-466-6963.