West Montgomery Times

Rep. Donna Scheuren, Rep. David Maloney, and Sen. Tracy Pennycuick attended a Boyertown Area School District (BASD) school board meeting to celebrate the awarding of a $525,607 grant for school safety and mental health support. This grant is part of a $47 million allocation to schools across Pennsylvania, approved by the School Safety and Security Committee (SSSC) under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). It completes the $155 million school safety grants program included in the bipartisan 2023-24 budget.

The funds aim to help Pennsylvania schools create safe learning environments by addressing basic safety needs and mental health services as per the committee's Revised Baseline Criteria Standards.

“I am proud to celebrate this grant with the great community at Boyertown Area School District and even happier to hear how the funds will be allocated,” said Scheuren. “Since my start on a school board back in 2011, I have been a huge advocate for school resource police officers. By adding two additional police officers, as well as video monitoring equipment, Boyertown continues to prioritize the safety of students and staff, and that is music to my ears.”

Maloney expressed his hope that these funds would enhance student safety: “Being a former student from Boyertown and with the generational connection I have to so many families who graduated from and sent their children here, I am hopeful these funds will enhance the safety of our students.”

Pennycuick added: “My fellow legislators and I worked hard to secure funding for school safety initiatives in this year’s state budget. It’s very rewarding to see this funding contribute to projects that will make students and teachers safer here in our own communities.”