MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Two school districts in the Poconos will look to make some important safety improvements thanks to a grant from the state.
The Pocono Mountain School District and the East Stroudsburg Area School District were awarded state money to keep students and staff safe. The grants can be used for safety equipment or for hiring school police and security personnel.
School police officers and security guards roam the East Stroudsburg South High School halls daily. While they work to protect students and staff, parents say they still worry about safety.
"It's always in the back of my mind just because it hasn't happened here. It could, you know, and it's the times we live in. It's dangerous," said parent Banae Vickers.
The East Stroudsburg Area School District will soon enhance some of its safety measures with $117,000 from the Department of Education's Safe Schools targeted grants program.
It will go towards replacing outdated PA systems in two of the three schools with special emergency communications equipment. The district will also hire an additional school police officer for the north campus.
"By being stationed in our buildings, they know our students. They're approachable. They can do community-level policing that doesn't occur when the police are simply responding in a response mode. We want them to be able with the students every day, be a part of their environment," said district official Eric Forsyth.
School administrators say the grant money comes at a good time because the district always looks to improve here on school grounds.
"School safety is an ever-evolving field. It's challenging, so any moneys that are received have to be applied for that day and time. We know that throughout the nation, there are school threats and active school shootings that take place, sadly, on a regular basis. We want to do what we can to prevent those and mitigate those," Forsyth said.
The grant program also awarded the Pocono Mountain School District $45,000 for upgrading and expanding indoor and outdoor school camera systems.
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