Nov. 23 (Reuters) – The NH Executive Council on Tuesday approved a $9.87 million spending of federal funds to improve safety in schools across the state, including the Monadnock region
This follows $3.9 million allocated earlier this year and a total of $43.9 million since 2017, according to a press release from Gov. Chris Sununu’s office. The money will be used, among other things, to strengthen windows, doors and locks and for improved surveillance cameras.
“New Hampshire is not immune to the tragedies we have seen across the country,” Sununu said in the release. He added that the additional funding “is a clear sign that New Hampshire is committing as many resources as possible to ensure schools are equipped with the resources and training that need to be prepared.”
Funding for 335 projects in 249 schools in New Hampshire – 231 public and 18 private – was approved in the latest round of funding by the Security Action for Education program. In the Monadnock area, 10 school districts and private schools are to receive a total of $691,656.
Prizes were capped at $100,000 per school, according to a press release from the NH Department of Education. The schools submitted their application for this funding through the NH Homeland Security and Emergency Management Resource Center, which then used an assessment rubric while reviewing the documents to assess the buildings’ potential risks.
“The results of [the] The scoring column indicated that the lower the score, the higher the risk,” Sununu wrote in a memo to the executive board. “The highest possible score was 7.0 and the average score was 5.8.”
At Tuesday’s Executive Council meeting in Concord, Councilwoman Cinde Warmington, whose district occupies most of the Monadnock region, reminded NH Public Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn that he said at the board’s June 1 meeting that there was no issue for public safety is more important than the safety of children in schools.
The following schools in the region are to be funded:
*Fall Mountain Regional School District – includes Acworth, Alstead, Charlestown, Langdon and Walpole: $227,300 distributed across 10 schools in the district
*The Dublin School, a private day and boarding school: $100,000
*Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District: $92,347 between elementary schools in each of these cities
*Hinsdale School District: $83,417.48 for elementary and middle/high school
*Marlborough School District: $79,882 for Marlborough Elementary School
*Dublin Christian Academy, a private school: $75,000
*Making Community Connections, a public charter high school in Keene: $19,452
*Monadnock Regional School District: $7,258.01 for Emerson Elementary School in Fitzwilliam
* Stoddard School District: $6,000 for James Faulkner Elementary School
* Surry Village Charter School: $1,000
Rick Green can be reached at [email protected] or 603-355-8567.