Greenwood to mark $1M ARPA spending for school safety

A proposed Greenwood ordinance would create a $1 million grant program for school safety.

Federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, will be used to create grants for the city’s three public school districts — Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant and Greenwood — to enhance security efforts with hard measures. The ordinance, which is sponsored by council members Ron Bates, Mike Campbell, Drew Foster, Linda Gibson and David Hopper, was formally introduced by Mayor Mark Myers during Monday’s city council meeting.

When introducing the ordinance, Myers told the city council he had been talking with Deputy Mayor Terry McLaughlin, city controller Greg Wright and the city’s financial consultant Adam Stone about the federal funds the city received from ARPA. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package distributed billions for states to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and to give to cities, towns and counties.

The money can be used for a variety of purposes, including responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency, negative economic impacts of the emergency, off-setting lost government revenue, and capital improvement projects such as upgrading water, sewer or broadband infrastructure. Federal officials also allow for a portion of the funds to be used for discretionary purposes.

“With what happened with the Ulvade (Texas) campus issue, and with other schools around the nation, I asked them if we had money available in ARPA funds that we could give to the schools,” Myers said.

The $1 million in ARPA funds will be equally divided between the three school districts. Each district will be reimbursed up to $333,000 in security costs for items like cameras, system upgrades and physical security structures, according to city officials.

It cannot be used for soft costs like salaries, Myers said.

“I think this is something very good for our community, for our school systems, for all the children that reside in Greenwood,” he said.

As a condition of the grant program, the districts will be required to bring the city a plan explaining how they’re using the money. City officials look at the plan to make sure that the costs are reimbursable, Myers said.

“… They have to actually spend the money, then they bring an invoice and then the money is reimbursed to them,” city attorney Shawna Koons said Monday night.

Rich Arkanoff, the superintendent of Center Grove schools, said in a statement released Wednesday that the safety of students, staff and schools is a top priority of the district. He also said the district has been working with its school board to add needed safety measures and mental health resources using funds as they become available through the district’s budget process, grant opportunities and partnerships with area agencies.

“While we have made some progress, safety is not a box that can be checked off of our list,” Arkanoff said. “We will continue to work on both proactive and reactive ways to improve the well-being and security in our district.”

Patrick Spray, the superintendent of Clark-Pleasant schools, said in a statement that the district is thankful to Myers and the city council for their commitment to keeping both the school district and students safe.

“With this funding, we are exploring options including purchasing a communications console for our school police department, increasing all communication systems within the district and installing additional security cameras and safety sensors,” Spray said.

Greenwood Community Schools Superintendent Terry Terhune said the extra funding would enhance the district’s current safety efforts and would help the district move forward with providing additional safety measures.

“Our daily goal is to make sure staff, students and parents feel safe in our schools, and we thank the City of Greenwood for investing in safety efforts,” Terhune said in a statement.

The ordinance would normally undergo two more readings before final passage, however, the city council unanimously voted to both suspend the rules and push the ordinance through after the first reading. A public hearing on the ordinance, along with final approval will take place on Oct. 17.

The grants would be made available immediately after passage.