Lorain County schools get $1.3 million in safety grants

Lorain County schools will receive nearly $1.3 million in safety grants from the state of Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday. DeWine announced at the Ohio School Safety Summit in Columbus that more than 1,000 kindergarten through 12th grade schools across Ohio will receive state assistance to pay for security upgrades "that enhance the safety of students and staff." Grants equal the amount requested by each school up to $50,000. Funds can be used to cover physical security enhancements such as security cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, visitor badging systems and exterior lighting. It is the second round of such grants. In the first round in May, Midview Schools received $200,000. The grant recipients in Lorain County were: Amherst School District: $136,579. Amherst Junior High School and Walter G. Nord Middle School each got $50,000. Marion L. Steele High School got $36,579. Avon Lake School District: $262,689. Avon Lake High School, Learwood Middle School, and Troy Intermediate School received $50,000 each. Redwood Elementary School received $35,084. Eastview Elementary School received $29,704. Erieview Elementary School received $24,831. And Westview Elementary School received $23,071. Columbia School District: $150,000. The money was split evenly in $50,000 increments between Columbia High School, Columbia Middle School and Copopa Elementary School. Elyria School District: $300,000. Eastern Heights Middle School, Ely Elementary School, Elyria High School, Hamilton Elementary School, the Northwood Campus and Westwood Middle School each received $50,000. The Firelands School District: $72,805. Firelands Elementary School received $50,000 and Firelands High School got $22,805. Horizon Science Academy of Lorain: $50,000. Keystone School District: $132,600. Keystone Elementary School and Keystone Middle School received $50,000 each, and Keystone High School got $32,600. Lorain County Joint Vocational School: $50,000. Mansfield Preparatory Academy, Lorain: $44,000. Midview Academy/Midview Virtual School: $50,000. Oberlin School District: $42,265. Oberlin High School got $33,254, Langston Middle School $5,650 and Oberlin Elementary School $3,360. "With the start of the new school year quickly approaching, we want students, staff, and parents to know that we care about school safety, and we're working every day to make sure that rural, urban, and suburban schools alike have the safety and security resources they need," DeWine said. "Helping schools pay for important security improvements is just one component of our comprehensive school safety approach that also supports the mental well-being of our kids and the work of local law enforcement to prevent crime."