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‘Students should not fear going to school’: East Valley district gets federal funds for safety

A Spokane Valley police vehicle is seen outside East Valley High School following a social media threat in this December 2018 photo. New federal funding is coming to the school district to beef up security efforts. 
By Kip Hill kiph@spokesman.com(509) 459-5429

The East Valley School District is one of three Eastern Washington districts to receive federal funds this year to beef up school security.

The district will receive $187,500 in the form of a grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington William Hyslop said in a news release Friday.

The grant will allow the district to pay for start-up programming costs to improve visitor screening and streamline security camera coverage districtwide, said Neale Rasmussen, executive director of business, finance and technology for East Valley.

“Without the grant, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” Rasmussen said, noting that the technological improvements will allow schools to screen visitors in databases of sex offenders. The improvements will also speed communication between local law enforcement and the district to let schools know when criminal activity is occurring and a lockdown can be implemented, Rasmussen said.

Hyslop said the grants would help local district officials and students feel more secure in their buildings.

“Students should not fear going to school. These awards reflect the Department of Justice’s commitment to safe and secure learning environments for our students,” Hyslop said in a news release.

Other Washington agencies receiving grant money through the program are the Mattawa Police Department, which will receive $372,750, and Consolidated School District #116 in Prosser will receive $97,449.

In Idaho, the Kellogg Joint School District 391 will receive about $230,000 through the program. The Genesee Joint School District northeast of Lewiston will receive $55,000.

The fund was established by Congressional action in 2018, and it allowed the Justice Department to make direct awards to states, local districts and law enforcement agencies as well as tribal governments to increase security on school campuses. A total of $50 million has been set aside this year nationally for school safety expenses, according to the news release.