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Nearly 200 Mich. school districts receive $25M in state grants to hire SROs

The money may be used for salaries, benefits and training for the school resource officers

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Jeffrey S. Solochek/Tampa Bay Times via TNS

By Matthew Fahr
The Oakland Press

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. — Nearly 200 Michigan school districts, including five in Oakland County, will receive $25 million in state grants to hire school resource officers for the next three years.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that the money may be used for salaries, benefits, and training for school resource officers and will be administered by the State Police and the state officials. Districts will be required to provide a 50 percent match.

Brandon, Holly, Hazel Park, Oak Park and Oakland Schools will receive $742,858.

“This funding will help us build on our existing safety and security efforts, which include two full-time School Resource Officers from the Village of Holly Police Department and three armed security guards,” said Holly schools schools spokesperson Christopher Behnan. “We are in communication with the police department to determine how to add an additional School Resource Officer with the grant funding as soon as possible.”

The additional $25 million to hire more on-campus security was part of the education budget passed in July 2022.

“Every parent wants their kids to be safe at school,” said Whitmer. “These grants will help us hire almost 200 more School Resource Officers so we can make sure our children, teachers, and staff are safe at school.”

“These grant awards will not only help to provide better safety in our school buildings by increasing the number of schools throughout the state with at least one SRO, but very importantly, by prioritizing smaller schools in more remote areas, we will reduce the time it takes for a police response in the event of an emergency,” said MSP Director Col. Joe Gasper.

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(c)2023 The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich.
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