Cooper Office Comments on Legislature’s School Safety Budget | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Today, Governor Cooper's spokesman Ford Porter released the following statement on legislative Republicans' plan to shortchange school safety and youth mental health needs in North Carolina schools:

• "Legislative Republicans' misguided priorities are perfectly captured by their plan to fund tax giveaways for the wealthy and corporations while shortchanging youth mental health and school safety. These programs are important and the legislature's investment is simply not enough to protect our students."

    While Governor Cooper proposed investing $130 million to take concrete steps to protect students and prevent school violence, legislative Republicans have offered just $28 million and vague promises of federal dollars in the future.

    Governor Cooper's budget recommendations include:

    Investing in Public Safety Upgrades ($65 million) - The budget directs building improvements for better safety and security at K-12 public schools, state universities and community colleges. The funds should update communication systems so educators and law enforcement can quickly respond to critical incidents, audio-visual security systems for real-time monitoring, panic alarms, state-of-the-art doorways, and other tools to prevent and respond to threats.

    Improving Student Support Services ($40 million) - School nurses, counselors, psychologists, and social workers play a critical role in identifying and treating youth mental health needs early before they become more serious. This funding allows schools to hire additional personnel to support students and youth mental health.

    Increasing Funding for School Resource Officers ($10 million) - Recognizing the important work school resource officers (SRO) do on the front lines to keep students and teachers safe, the Governor's budget invests $7 million in the Department of Public Instruction to increase the allotment of funds for high school SROs to cover the real cost, from roughly $38,000 per high school to approximately $50,000 per high school. Another $3 million would supplement the grant program for officers stationed at elementary and middle schools. The budget will also recommend reducing the match requirement for Tier 1 and 2 counties so more districts can afford officers.

    Preparing a Risk and Response Program ($444,000) - When emergencies occur, schools and first responders need a plan in place to keep students and teachers safe. The Governor's budget recommends $444,000 to the Department of Public Safety to support the School Risk Management System that provides assistance with risk planning, school-wide exercises and monitoring to each school district. This web-based program allows school officials to work with first responders, law enforcement and emergency management to maintain a comprehensive digital School Risk Management Plan that enables officials to quickly respond to potential threats in our schools.

    Supporting Youth Mental Health ($15 million) - The budget provides funding for innovative programs to support the mental health needs of children and youth. That includes resources to increase the availability of evidence-based training programs that help teachers, school staff, and mental health professionals identify and respond to student mental health challenges. It supports new funding to provide services to children with identified behavioral health needs and programs designed to give tools to families and providers who care for them. The budget also includes funding for early childhood programs and critical new family strengthening initiatives that will build family and child resilience, address childhood trauma, and prevent adverse mental health outcomes later in life.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov