When state lawmakers announced the creation of school safety grants this past spring, WCRIS sprung into action, contacting legislators to ensure that private K-12 schools would be included. Because of WCRIS’ advocacy, the law was passed with full inclusion for religious and independent schools.
That work was well worth WCRIS’ effort, based on a review of awards given in the first round of the Department of Justice’s Office of School Safety grants.
A total of 290 private schools were awarded $6.9 million. The highest grant to a WCRIS single school was for $39,951 to Rock County Christian School and the lowest was for $2,282 to Thorp Catholic School near Chippewa Falls. Several private school systems got large amounts to cover multiple buildings. The largest single amount to a system was for $295,771 to Seton Catholic Schools in Milwaukee, which is a group of twelve K-8 schools. The largest grant to a secondary school was for $26,929 to Shoreland Lutheran High School in the Kenosha area.
