Berkeley Heights Awarded $300K For School Safety

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — Berkeley Heights has been awarded $297,673 in federal funds for major school security upgrades, which Rep. Leonard Lance (NJ-07) helped secure through a new law, the STOP School Violence Act.

“Our students must be protected against senseless violence to the greatest extent possible. This grant is great news for the Berkeley Heights community and the students, parents and faculty members who count on our schools to be a safe place. Our students need to feel safe in school to learn," Lance said.

The bipartisan STOP School Violence Act will offer law enforcement and school officials the expertise, technology and funding needed to identify and prevent threats, according to Lance.

“The residents of Berkeley Heights are most grateful of the support of Congressman Lance and his efforts in assisting us obtain this vital STOP School Violence grant. This important federal grant will go a long way for our police department and community in helping secure the safety of our schools and most importantly our children," Mayor Bob Woodruff said.

The federal funds are being awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The Student Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act,which was passed this year, directs funds for training and security measures for schools to better recognize warning signs and institutes reporting systems for potential threats.

It also creates grant funding to bolster school security, educate and train students and faculty, and support law enforcement officers and first responders who arrive on the scene of a school violence incident.

(Image via John Byers: Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) with Berkeley Heights Mayor Bob Woodruff, Police Chief John DiPasquale, and Judy Rattner, Superintendent of the Berkeley Heights Schools and other officials)

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