Bristol Twp. Schools Get Money For Security Improvements

The Bristol Township School District will receive $144,000 to improve school safety.

The funds were awarded by the School Safety and Security Committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) recently as part of the School Safety and Security Grant Program, which was created by lawmakers in 2018.

“We are excited and grateful to receive the PCCD grant. The funds will allow us to do even more to achieve the district’s goal of creating a school culture in which students, staff, and other members of the community feel personally, physically and emotionally safe,” Superintendent Dr. Melanie Gehrens said.

The money can be used by schools to hire school security officers, purchase security-related technology, complete safety and security assessments, implement violence prevention curricula, offer counseling services for students, and create other programs to protect students.

The Bristol Township School District already employs unarmed police and security officers at its facilities. They also regularly work with the Bristol Township Police Department.

State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson said he supported legislation that created the roughly $40 million provided to Pennsylvania schools in the most recent round of funding.

This program will provide critical funding and resources directly to our local school districts that will help keep our students and teachers safe. In addition to the practices they have already put in place, I commend the members of the school board and the superintendents for being proactive in applying for State funding to further protect our schools,” said Tomlinson.

Following a statewide school safety report released in 2018, officials have pledged more funds and efforts to secure schools. Locally, schools have received school safety grants and the Safe2Say Something Anonymous Reporting System has come online.