Norfolk County DA Offers Schools Up to $2K in Safety Grants and Training

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey is starting the new school year by offering all of his communities, including Foxborough, up to $2,000 to make safety and security upgrades to their school facilities and inviting educators and administrators from across the county to his 2012 School Safety Summit in October.

“Our school security grant program was very well received last year and we were able to fund projects in eight school districts to make their students safer,” Morrissey said. "Last year, we offered $3,000 matching fund grants to support larger projects. This year we are funding $2,000 direct grants, which may open the door to some additional communities.”

Morrissey approved all of the schools that applied last year: Braintree, Weymouth, Quincy, Sharon, Blue Hills Regional, Norfolk Agricultural School and Wrentham. The grants funded secure entry systems, intruder alarms, security monitors and other capital improvements to the schools.

In the same e-mail message providing the grant applications, the District Attorney asked area superintendents to “save the date” of Oct. 10 for the School Security Summit he is organizing at the Lombardo function hall in Randolph.

“We will be presenting experts on violent school intruder defense strategies, school district information sharing, protecting schools from explosives and arson and middle school behavioral concerns,” Morrissey said. “Norfolk County is comprised of safe communities with safe schools, and it is imperative that educators and law enforcement work together to assure that they remain safe.”

Again this year, Morrissey is appropriating money seized in drug arrests and forfeited in cases prosecuted by his office to fund the school safety grants. Forfeiture funds are also being used to host the School Security Summit.

“There is an appropriate symmetry in using assets seized from activities that make our schools and our students less safe, and re-directing those resources into making those students safer,” Morrissey said.