Nearly $4M in school safety grants headed to 89 schools, districts in Wisconsin

MADISON -- Attorney General Brad Schimel announced on Thursday, July 19 a list of 89 schools and school districts that have been awarded the next round of grants through the Wisconsin Department of Justice School Safety Grant program, administered by DOJ’s Office of School Safety.

Combined, the 89 schools and school districts will receive $3,980,473 which will be spent on building safety improvements, as well as mental health training for faculty and staff.

Here is a complete list of schools and districts awarded grants on July 19:

Schmidt issued the following statement in a news release:

"The DOJ Office of School Safety is moving fast to award school safety grants. The nearly $4 million grants being awarded to large and small schools across the state, incentivizes school officials and law enforcement to make meaningful improvements to Wisconsin school safety through physical improvements and a focus on mental health training for school faculty."

Grant dollars are divided into two categories: the Primary School Safety Grant and Advanced School Safety Grant. DOJ’s Primary School Safety Grants focus on baseline improvements to schools, including door locks and hardening school entryways. The Advanced School Safety Grants are awarded to schools that have met minimum security thresholds. In addition to making upgrades to school buildings, one of the School Safety Grant prerequisites is providing all full-time teachers, aides, counselors, and administrators with a minimum of three hours combined training in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Trauma Informed Care/Trauma Sensitive Schools (TIC/TSS) before the end of the 2018-2019 school year; or demonstrate that staff has already received such training.