KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Kalamazoo Public Schools has been awarded a $442,000 grant from the Michigan State Police 2019 Competitive School Safety Grant Program to pay for security upgrades.
KPS officials say they will use the money to fund digital radios that can communicate to all district sites, first responders and law enforcement. The district's current radio system does not have those capabilities, a press release stated.
The grant will also pay for exterior speakers at entrances, playgrounds and bus loading areas at middle and elementary schools, according to a release.
In addition, district officials say part of the grant will be used for Kalamazoo Central and Loy Norrix high schools to receive a new public address system and exterior paging systems.
KPS officials say projects funded by the grant must be completed by June 1, 2020.
The MSP grant program is awarding $25 million to improve the safety of 135 Michigan public school districts, including KPS, 66 non-public schools, 20 public charter schools and nine intermediate school districts, according to the Associated Press.
KPS officials noted they had implemented several safety measures in recent years, including adding more than a thousand security cameras, installing a buzzer system at the entrance of schools and increasing the number of school safety officers.