Here’s What Brian Kemp Wants to Do to Make Schools Safer

January 13, 2025
1 min read
Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday he will ask the General Assembly to provide an additional $50 million in state grants to improve security in Georgia schools.
Kate Way / Shutterstock.com

Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday he will ask the General Assembly to provide an additional $50 million in state grants to improve security in Georgia schools.

The added funding would bring the total for the current fiscal year to $158 million, Kemp said during a news conference at the state Capitol.

“This is going to keep our students, teachers, and school systems safer,” he said.

The issue of school safety has taken on greater urgency under the Gold Dome since last September’s mass shooting at Apalachee High School near Winder that killed two students and two teachers. A 14-year-old student was arrested at the scene and charged with the murders.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones credited the school-safety grant program with reducing the potential carnage at the school in Barrow County.

“Had we not made that investment, the tragedy that hit Apalachee could have been much worse,” he said.

The added funding for school safety would be enough to give each school in the state $68,760.

Kemp said local school systems would be given discretion over how to use the money.

“They know their schools and their needs better than we do,” he said.

However, legislation the General Assembly passed in 2023 requires schools to submit safety plans to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in order to receive the funds.

Dave Williams is the Bureau Chief for Capitol Beat News Service. He is a veteran reporter who has reported on Georgia state government and politics since 1999. Before that, he covered Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.
Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service

Dave Williams is the Bureau Chief for Capitol Beat News Service. He is a veteran reporter who has reported on Georgia state government and politics since 1999. Before that, he covered Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.


Events Calendar