Kalamazoo Public Schools Awarded $442K Towards Security

Kalamazoo Public Schools has been awarded a $442,000 grant from the Michigan State Police 2019 Competitive School Safety Grant Program to pay for security upgrades.

Kalamazoo School officials say the money will be used to to get digital radios to be used for communication between all of the district's schools, law enforcement and first responders. The grant will also pay for exterior speakers at entrances, playgrounds and bus loading areas at middle and elementary schools.

District officials say part of the grant will also be used for Kalamazoo Central and Loy Norrix high schools to receive a new public address systems and exterior paging systems.

All projects funded by the grant must be completed by June 1, 2020.

KPS officials noted they had implemented several safety measures in recent years, including adding more than a thousand security cameras, installing a buzzer system at the entrance of schools and increasing the number of school safety officers.