Cape District to apply for school-safety grant from Department of Justice

The Cape Girardeau School Board approved a $500,000 grant proposal to fund school safety Monday night.

With the board's vote, the district will now submit a proposal for approval to the Department of Justice for its Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) Grant.

Money from the grant will go toward equipment for school security. Cape Girardeau School District assistant superintendent Josh Crowell said the grant would help the district update security cameras and radios.

The district would also use money from the grant to place bullet-resistant film for windows across district properties and buy mobile metal detectors, locks and new security lighting.

"We're very well off right now, but we can always be better, and this grant would help us do that," Crowell said.

SVPP grants provide schools with up to 75% of funding for school safety measures. If the Department of Justice approves the district's proposal, the Cape Girardeau School District would match the funds at 25%.

The district requested a $500,000 SVPP grant. Over the course of three years, the district would pay $125,000 of the total.

The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) provides millions of dollars in school safety funding every year through SVPP.

This is the second time the Cape Girardeau district has applied for the grant. In 2019, the district received $72,321 from the Department of Justice. Crowell said the district used the grant for CPR, first-aid and behavioral risk assessment training.

Up to $53 million in funding is available nationwide, according to the Department of Justice. All local agencies are required to match at least 25% of funds they receive.

The district will not be informed until fall whether its application for the grant will be accepted, Crowell said.