School district gets grant for school safety

    The Pendleton County School Board met in regular session on Monday, September 21, 2020 with numerous items of business to discuss.  
    The Board members comments were pretty consistent with thank you’s to Matt Compton and Craig Smith in the writing of the COPS SVPP Grant application and approval for Pendleton County.
    Also recognized for excellence was the sports going on in the county and the efforts put into the youth fair and all of the participants who spent their time in some way to be a part of that.  
    Lisa Manor was welcomed back to Pendleton County schools and gave an updated report on the ACT composite testing completed before school let out last school year. The overall report showed an increase from previous testing.  
    The budget for school year 2020-2021 was reviewed and approved. Final allocations for the completion of the Phillip Sharp Middle School roof project were approved.
    Concerning the grant, Compton who is the Assistant Superintendent explained, “Pendleton County Schools was recently awarded the COPS-SVPP grant.  This Grant is the Community Oriented Policing Services School Violence Prevention Program Grant.  This year, approximately 160 grants were awarded nationwide to schools, community organizations, and law enforcement agencies. Pendleton Counties Grant was for the amount of $340,000.00.  
    Pendleton County schools has made school safety and violence prevention a top priority and this grant will provide much needed assistance to ensure our students and staff have state of the art technology and safety measures in place.  The grant was written in collaboration with the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office and the Pendleton County Emergency Management Office.  Pendleton County Schools are very appreciative of the collaborative efforts of local agencies which make these awards possible.  
    The COPS-SVPP grant will benefit the students, staff, and community of Pendleton County in a multifaceted way.  Project
 hat are slated to be completed in the three year grant cycle include: an upgrade to the security camera system across the district, a new public address and intercom system at Phillip Sharp Middle School, as well as the conversion of two way bus radios to a digital system.
    These upgrades will provide additional layers of support, as well as enhance our current safety and security already in place.  The district anticipates beginning projects in early December of 2020 and must complete projects within the three year grant cycle”.  
    Pendleton County Schools will be going to the hybrid in person model beginning October 19, 2020.