Barrow County outlines more than $1 million in state, federal and private safety grants and what they paid for

Barrow County Schools officials on Tuesday provided a multi‑year accounting of safety grants and related expenditures the district has used since 2019, and described gaps that still require local funding.

Why it matters: grants have paid for access control, cameras, panic‑alert systems and temporary classroom pods, but several large repair and construction costs remain local responsibilities and some federal grants cover only short‑term leases.

Jennifer Houston, a district staff member who presented grants history, said the district received $450,000 in 2019, which primarily funded access control (about $420,000), visitor‑management software and some AEDs and cameras. The district received another $450,000 in 2020 and no security grants in 2021–22. In 2023 the district received $800,000 that supported the panic‑alert system and Syntegix mapping; Houston said the Syntegix work combined with other purchases amounted to “over a million dollars.” She said Barrow County Sheriff Judd Smith contributed $248,000 for security cameras.

Houston said the U.S. Department of Education awarded the district a Project SERV grant in May (project serve) for about $1,100,000. “We can only use these funds for the temporary small pod of a 5‑classroom unit that was immediately available,” she said, and added that Project SERV will cover the pod lease only through March 2026 and does not reimburse construction or permanent grading (which she said was roughly $600,000). Houston said that leaves a remaining balance of about $1.5 million in local funding needs and that Project SERV does not cover renovations at Apalachee High School.

Local philanthropic support came through the Barrow County Community Foundation, which Houston said awarded roughly $410,000: $179,000 for therapy and substitute coverage and $230,000 directed to Apalachee High School for calming areas, furniture, therapy dogs and other identified needs.

She also described a per‑school allocation from the state: an amended 2025 state budget provided $21,635 per school after the September 4 tragedy; the 2026 budget increased that to $47,165 per school. Houston said the combined per‑school total for the current cycle is roughly $68,800 per school and the district is compiling an August list of requests — access‑control updates, cameras, radios, curtains and speaker upgrades — to spend that recurring allocation.

Houston stressed that some safety expenses are recurring and that grant availability has been intermittent: “How can we fund a yearly reoccurring expense with a grant that may or may not get to us every year?” she said, noting the district must mix state, federal and local tax revenue to sustain equipment subscriptions and staffing.

No formal board vote was necessary for the grant summary, which staff provided as an informational briefing.