Nearly 400 schools in Arizona will soon be receiving more funding for school resource officers (SROs), counselors and social workers.
Earlier this year the state’s legislature expanded Arizona’s school safety program from $12 million to $32 million, and the Arizona State Board of Education approved the funding on Friday, reports ABC 15. The Arizona Department of Education received $97 million in requests from schools, so roughly one third of the funding was available to meet every request.
The program will fund 116 SROs, 148 school counselors and 118 social workers across 14 counties, both district and charter schools, as well as both urban and rural schools.
Associate Superintendent for Policy and Government Relations at the Arizona Department of Education Callie Kozlak told ABC 15 the department used a fair and transparent process to determine which schools should receive the funding.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman released the following statement about the funding:
“It is an incredible step in the right direction to fund 383 new school safety positions across the state. From my conversations at schools and given the vast number of applications we were unable to fund, I know that as a state, we still have more work to do. Every school in our state has safety needs, and every student deserves access to mental health supports. Providing more funding to address these critical needs must be our top priority during the next legislative session. I want to thank the legislature, Governor Ducey and his team for their support throughout this process and for prioritizing school safety as much as I do. Together we can make certain that every school has the resources they need to keep students safe and meet their social-emotional needs.”
The awardees and additional information can be found here.
