HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — At a Henrico County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, a unanimous vote was made to spend $5,415,000 on school security improvements.
“I think we’ve been very open and public about the fact that we are very concerned about our schools and safety,” said board member Patricia O’Bannon of the Tuckahoe District. “This is what’s going to go and help that.”
The improvements were said to include more School Resource Officers (SROs), security cameras, access control systems, enhanced visitor sign-in and more.
The upgrades were made possible by a $12 million construction fund handed down from the state of Virginia. The money was used to pay for the planning costs of two new elementary schools and freed up $5 million in local money to pay for the proposed security upgrades.
“With revenues coming in higher than anticipated for school construction,” said Dr. Amy Cashwell, the Superintendent of Henrico Public schools in July. “That additional state money necessitated last evening’s board meeting and the appropriation of additional funds.”
Security is on the minds of educators across the Commonwealth. 8News reported last month that there were more than 700 schools without SROs. That included 596 elementary schools, 30 middle schools, 30 high schools and 49 others.
