UPDATE Westport will receive a state grant of $261,083 to upgrade school security, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has announced. The grant is contingent on town approval to spend $1.25 million on the upgrades.
Westport is among 36 school districts in the state that will receive funds in the first round of the Competitive Grant Program for school security as part of part of the Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety Act, Malloy’s office announced.
State funding of $5 million will be used to reimburse municipalities for a portion of the costs associated with security infrastructure improvements made in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, the announcement said.
Westport submitted an application detailing $999,559 in school security costs, according to the announcement.
However, no appropriation for spending that amount has been authorized by the town’s Board of Finance or Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
In an e-mail to members of both bodies on Wednesday, Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon said, “We are looking forward to bringing appropriation requests to the Board of Finance and RTM once we have prepared our RFPs (requests for proposals) for these projects.”
Landon later clarified that the grant is contingent on the town spending almost $1.25 million for the security upgrades, bringing the cost to the town below the $1 million threshold eligibility for the grant.
He said Schools Business Manager Elio Longo prepared Westport’s application for the grant, adding, “I know that the items requested have the support of the Westport Police Department and Kroll Advisory Services.”
Kroll has been hired by the Board of Education to conduct a security review of the town’s schools at a cost of $100,000 and is expected to submit its report sometime in the next month.
