Winona Area Public SchoolsWinona Area Public Schools (WAPS) is pleased to announce that they have been awarded a school safety grant for Washington-Kosciusko Elementary in the amount of $316,447 from Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). District officials had submitted six grant applications, one for each school, for high priority safety and security projects. MDE received a total of 1,187 applications and Washington-Kosciusko Elementary was 1 out of 123 buildings that were awarded a school safety grant.
Sarah Slaby, WAPS Director of Fiscal Affairs and school safety grant author said, “We are pleased to have received this grant. It's a great benefit for our students and our taxpayers in the district.”
Washington-Kosciusko Elementary projects that will be covered by the School Safety Grant include creating a secure vestibule through renovation of the main office, improve security technology including improving camera systems, door control, lock-down buttons and strobes.
What does this mean for other district school buildings? Winona Area Public Schools has a bond referendum on the November 2018 ballot that includes safety and security updates in all six schools. With Washington-Kosciusko being awarded $316,447 in school safety grants, this decreases the amount that will be needed to complete the current bond referendum projects.
As a next step, WAPS will submit to MDE a final full work-plan and budget by March 31, 2019.
For more information on the School Safety Grants, please contact Superintendent Rich Dahman at 507.494.0861.