Arkansas' school safety grant money mostly spent
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As school starts for most Northwest Arkansas districts in the next two weeks, any parent is allowed to wonder: "Are my children safe?"
The big picture: Incidents involving firearms on U.S. school campuses are up dramatically over the past three years, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.
- Nationwide, there have been 193 school incidents in calendar 2024. That's 55% of 2023's total — before the fall semester begins.
State of play: The state Department of Education paid out $42.4 million to "harden" public schools — limiting visitor access, increasing security — across Arkansas in the past year.
- An Axios analysis of 10 NWA school districts last fall showed that most get a passing grade when it comes to safety measures outlined by the Arkansas School Safety Commission's report.
- The analysis doesn't mean one school is safer than another; rather, it was meant to demonstrate how NWA's districts have proactively worked to protect kids.
Flashback: Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson pledged $50 million in 2022 for Arkansas schools to upgrade security measures in response to the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
- Schools weren't able to apply for grants until spring of last year, and they had to spend capital on security by the end of 2023 in order to be reimbursed.
- Yes, but: Three school districts were allowed to carry over their spending into this year due to "summer work," an Education Department spokesperson said.
By the numbers: The maximum funding available per school district was based on its 2021-22 enrollment, with a scale multiplier of $25 per student.
- Bentonville ($713,400), Farmington ($215,075), Fayetteville ($508,725) Siloam Springs ($257,250), Pea Ridge ($183,025), Prairie Grove ($176,700) and Rogers ($173,000) have spent the money and have been or will soon be reimbursed by the state, administrators told Axios.
What's next: The remaining $7.6 million will be used to help school districts that haven't met priority one recommendations, the Education Department spokesperson told Axios.
- "We will work directly with those districts and use the remaining funds to ensure those priorities are met this fall. Once all districts have met the standards listed under priority one, we will shift to ensuring all have met priority two," she said.