November 12, 2013
State Reps. Rick Lopes (D-New Britain, Newington), Bobby Sanchez (D-New Britain), and Betty Boukus (D-Plainville, New Britain), Peter Tercyak (D-New Britain) and Sen. Terry Gerratana (D-New Britain) today announced New Britain schools will receive funds under the School Security Grant Program, part of the Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety Act approved by the legislature after the tragedy at Sandy Hook. New Britain will receive $176,604 to help defray costs associated with security infrastructure improvements at its schools.
"Improving the resilience of our school buildings is one important facet of the effort to improve safety," Rep. Lopes said. "We must move forward with these improvements in conjunction with other measures to address the present day vulnerability of our schools. I am also pleased Newington received $151,611 for its schools."
"Nothing is more relevant than improving school safety and security during these times," Rep. Sanchez said. "Keeping our students safe is a priority we can all agree on. I am pleased to see this program being implemented and moving ahead."
"Safety is a top priority," Rep. Boukus said. "We created this program as a way to speed-up security improvements at our schools."
"This was another opportunity to increase funding for New Britain. I'm glad we succeeded. As a delegation we work hard for New Britain and keep our eyes open for programs we might qualify for," Rep. Tercyak said.
"The Legislature was able to pass a historic, bipartisan bill that will allow for critical improvements to help parents feel more confident that their children are safe at school," said Sen. Terry Gerratana. "Protecting the safety of Connecticut's children while they further their education is one of the most important roles of the Legislature. I worked with my colleagues from both sides of the political aisle to develop this new school safety program, and I am glad that New Britain's schools will benefit from it."
New Britain applied for the state funds through the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Eligible projects under the program include the installation of surveillance cameras, bulletproof glass, electric locks, buzzer and card entry systems, and panic alarms.
"So many of our cities and towns have decided that security must be stepped up at their schools, and I believe state government has an obligation to assist them in doing that," Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said. "This funding is an investment that will help protect our children and give them the safe learning environment they deserve."
New Britain received state funding previously during the first round of school security grants. For more information, see http://www.governor.ct.gov/malloy/lib/malloy/2013.11.12_school_security.pdf.