Securing our schools goes beyond mere mandates; it necessitates adequate funding. Currently, school safety funding contends with countless other expenses in school budgets. Direct government funding earmarked for school safety and security is a rarity. The Department of Homeland Security provides this tool to evaluate threats to school security, aiding in navigating the subjective nature of assessing safety’s return on investment, a typical method for budget prioritization. Yet, the pain and emotional trauma, even for planners, of not doing anything or not doing enough should an event occur, is immeasurable.
Financial constraints may limit the range of safety measures feasible for implementation within a single fiscal period. However, schools can take control of this situation by developing a strategic investment plan. This plan should prioritize the most critical solutions and work toward completing a comprehensive plan in order of importance. By tailoring these strategic investments to the specific needs of each school, districts can maximize the effectiveness of their limited budgets, giving them a sense of empowerment and control over their safety measures.
A Complete Safety Strategy can be Expensive and Complex
Previously, we discussed the PASS (Partner Alliance for Safer Schools) recommended multi-layered approach as the optimal method for developing an efficient school safety strategy. However, achieving this can entail substantial financial investment in physical security measures and intangible aspects like training and education. In a perfect world, every school would have the budget to implement a comprehensive, multi-layered school safety program. Still, unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world.
If financial limitations prevent executing a complete strategy, then a multi-financial year plan might be the best approach focusing on the most cost-effective elements earlier in the plan and completing the later parts as budget permits. The strategic plan will help keep everything coordinated and help provide defensible justification for the investments.
Although we strongly advocate for the multi-layered plan, our thesis is that ‘the buck’ stops with classroom security, this being the foundation of school safety within any school. Why? Because no person in a classroom, when properly concealed has ever been killed or injured in the USA when the offender is outside the locked classroom door.
In The Standard Response Protocol by the i love u guys Foundation, they state, “The most powerful time barrier in an active assailant event is a locked classroom door.” They go on to include, “The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission Report says this: ‘The testimony and other evidence presented to the Commission reveals that there has never been an event in which an active shooter breached a locked classroom door.’”
It’s important then that this is considered correct. Addressed early in the strategy, with or without budget limitations. Our post here speaks to the requirements for a proper solution for a classroom lock.
Classroom Safety on a Budget
For school districts interested in getting started, we’ve outlined how to build a comprehensive classroom safety strategy. This outlines specific requirements that need to be considered, such as door hardware, lock requirements and policies.
When exploring cost-effective solutions, schools can further reduce expenses by prioritizing certain attributes in their classroom safety upgrades. For example, opting for retrofitting existing door preparations instead of complete door replacements will significantly reduce costs.
Similarly, choosing locks that maintain the fire code rating of the door ensures compliance without the need for costly modifications. Installation has a large bearing on the cost of the solution. That means ensuring your installer does everything possible to reduce the time needed per lock installation is very important, especially when you have a lot of classrooms to secure.
Summary
As the January 28, 2025 deadline for spending Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds approaches, schools must not wait but start aggressively pursuing alternate funding sources.
Resources like SchoolSafety.gov’s Grants Finder Tool can be a great place to start the search for Federal grants. State-level grants are also very common throughout the country. Every state has a different method for posting information about grants, so more research will need to be done by each district specific to their state.
The National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) has developed a tool to track legislation down to the municipal level. This can help schools understand what funding may be on the horizon through the legislative process. By actively seeking these funding sources, schools can take a proactive stance in ensuring their safety, which should be a motivating factor for them.
Getting Help and Resources
For additional resources on addressing school safety, you can review guidelines and materials from our partners at Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS).
You can also get in touch with us directly. We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Downloads
Download this blog, one of the other core blog posts or download the set of six.
Related Links
- Building a Comprehensive School Security Strategy Overview
- The Classroom is the Foundation of School Security
- LinkedIn Announcement of the TownSteel ‘I Love U Guys’ Partnership:
- https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7191860875010449408/
- LinkedIn Announcement of TownSteel’s new School Safety products: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7169063629105876992/
- TownSteel’s School Safety products overview: https://townsteel.com/school-security/
