Op-Ed: Federal Funds Are Available to Help Secure Our Schools

by: Steve Rothman

Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 10:39:47 AM EDT

In recent weeks, Americans have witnessed more school shootings-in Colorado, Wisconsin, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Every time these tragedies make headlines, there is a call for action. While there are many steps that we can take, there is already a federal law and funding available to help keep our local schools and our schoolchildren safe.

In 2000, along with my friend Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL), I authored Secure Our Schools - a federal matching grant program for the purchase of school security equipment and for the security training of local school personnel. The bill passed the House and Senate and was then signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 2000.

Secure Our Schools is administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) in the Department of Justice. These grants help towns cover the cost of school safety measures, such as metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other crime prevention tools. They also fund security assessments, training for students, teachers, and administrators, coordination with local law enforcement, and other actions that significantly improve school safety. 

Since its first year of funding in 2002, $50 million dollars has been distributed to 48 states under the Secure Our Schools program. More specifically, 756 local law enforcement agencies and municipalities have partnered with over 1,300 schools nationwide to participate in this program to ensure the safety of their local schoolchildren.

In New Jersey, nearly 80 Secure Our School grants have been awarded to our law enforcement agencies and school districts. Those grants were worth over $6 million and helped secure 160 schools.

Secure Our Schools is not a government mandate. The state or local government pays 50 percent of the cost of this program, with the federal government matching the remainder of the cost. In some circumstances, grants can cover 100% of the price tag for an improvement, if need is proven.

Unfortunately, while Congress approved $30 million to be spent on Secure Our Schools grants in 2005 and 2006, the Republican Majority - following the lead of the President - slashed that amount by half to $15 million. Now, Republicans seem prepared to further cut funding for next year's grants to $14.8 million. This declining funding level is unacceptable.

There are over 14,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and 95,615 public K-12 schools in the nation, according to the Department of Education's last count. Clearly, full funding for the Secure Our Schools program would allow us to protect more schools and schoolchildren. That is why I recently wrote to congressional leaders and President Bush to demand that they provide the fully authorized level of $30 million for Secure Our Schools.

In the meantime, I encourage all New Jersey school districts interested in applying for the existing Secure Our Schools safety grants to partner with their local law enforcement agencies and contact my office at: 25 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601; phone: (201) 646-0808; fax: (201) 646-1944. We will provide any and all assistance in the application process. 

Much has been done to improve safety in our local schools, but much more needs to be done. Our nation must ensure that every district in the country that needs help, including in New Jersey, receives help. We must give our nation's schoolchildren a safe and secure environment in which they can learn, not having to constantly look over their shoulders in fear.

Despite tough fiscal times, the obligation of government remains the same. We must keep the public, and especially our children, safe.