Franklin County court authorizes application for DOJ COPS school‑safety grant with schools as partner

Franklin County Fiscal Court on June 4 approved a resolution authorizing the county judge executive to apply for the Department of Justice COPS School Violence Prevention Program grant to improve security at Franklin County Schools.

Belinda, representing the county, introduced Captain Abrams and Stella Pollard of Franklin County Schools and described the proposal: "This is a 3 year grant with a maximum award of $500,000. It requires a 25% local match, which Franklin County Schools has agreed to provide if the grant funds are awarded," she said. Schools representatives described plans to integrate camera upgrades and door access controls that would allow remote locking and provide direct feeds to dispatch.

Stella Pollard said the district has already refreshed some camera hardware and that the proposed system integrates cameras with door access so an administrator could "hit a button" to lock doors while cameras automatically correlate with doors. Captain Abrams said the integrated system would allow quicker response and post‑event review. "It gives our local sheriff's office and our city office visibility into our schools," Abrams said.

Court members discussed the partnership model and why fiscal court is applying rather than the school district. Belinda explained the district previously applied without success and the county has the administrative experience to manage similar federal awards. "The school district has applied for this before and they did not receive funding. So we thought that maybe coming through fiscal court might be an advantage to our application," she said.

The court voted to authorize the application. The authorization does not commit matching funds; the school district indicated it will provide the 25% local match only if the grant is awarded.