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Nearly $5 million in grants now available to support safe schools
CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) has been awarded $4,833,025 from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Stronger Connections grant program, which aims to reduce the risk of gun violence in schools and communities and improve student health and safety.
Today, NHED launched a Request for Application notifying public schools and public charter schools about the Stronger Connections competitive grant process to support safe learning environments. Grants will be awarded to high-need schools to fund activities that foster safe, healthy, supportive and drug-free environments, while focusing on three priority areas – access control, emergency alerting and surveillance.
“School safety remains an absolute priority in the Granite State. As New Hampshire works to enhance safety in schools and ensure that students and staff are free from violence, we know that every dollar can make a big difference,” said Frank Edelblut, education commissioner. “The Stronger Connections grant program is one more initiative designed to prepare schools for the unimaginable, and implement tools that assist with emergency management planning, which is necessary to protect our children.”
Grants may be used to enhance school preparedness through prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery. Funding is available for activities that will prevent a threatened or actual incident from occurring, safeguard students and staff from an emergency event, eliminate or reduce the loss of life or injuries from an emergency event and establish plans to effectively respond to an emergency.
“Ensuring kids can learn safely in school has been a top priority for years, and we remain committed to making additional investments in order to keep our children safe,” said Governor Chris Sununu.
The maximum amount to be awarded for each school is $100,000; schools have until August 1 to apply. Schools that are eligible include schools with high concentrations of poverty, students experiencing housing instability and homelessness, students in foster care, a high rate of chronic absenteeism, substance misuse, referrals to alternative education placements and community and school violence.
This newest grant opportunity follows the prior allocation of nearly $10 million in school safety funding to hundreds of schools across New Hampshire and an additional $3.9 million previously allocated last year as part of the Security Action for Education (SAFE) grant process. “New Hampshire is committed to fostering safe and secure environments for learning,” stressed Edelblut.