GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — “We’re all vulnerable,” Grand Rapids Christian Schools Superintendent Tom DeJonge said following a school shooting at Covenant Christian School in Nashville that left three children and three adults dead.
It’s a scary reality for schools across the nation.
“20 years ago, we didn't have to think too much about investing in the safety and security of our campuses like we do today,” DeJonge said.
According to the Associated Press, many private schools like Grand Rapids Christian or Covenant Christian lack the same access to state funding to bolster security as public schools.
Here in Michigan, money was just recently added to the state budget for this fiscal year to include private schools. Grand Rapids Christian also applied and was awarded two grants through Michigan State Police in the last seven years.
“There was probably about $300,000 that we were able to receive, and then invest in a variety of things at each of our five campuses,” DeJonge said.
With that money, it secured vestibules, added protective window film, and fired a safety assessment team to walk through all buildings, finding areas of need.
In the middle of the day, doors are locked at Grand Rapids Christian Schools, but they tell me the most vulnerable part of the day is at the start and end of the day.
“We need adults present so that there can be awareness of, of who's coming in other faces that we don't recognize,” DeJonge said.
Also on the wish list? New technology to help police identify where the building has been breached and a new locking system.
But these measures mean more money and the district hopes the money they saw from the state this year will stick around for years to come.
So in Michigan, the funding gap is closing, but there are still differences in requirements when it comes to gun safety. FOX 17's Elliot Grandia contacted the Michigan Department of Education to learn more. What he found is that it really comes down to the language in different pieces of the bills.
Some laws include private schools, like a requirement to penalize anyone carrying a weapon in weapon-free zones with a minimum misdemeanor.
Others don’t like a law to suspend or expel students because of a weapons violation. That bill only includes public schools in its language.
And access to police, also differs between public and private schools, according to the associated press.
The same goes for private colleges and universities in Michigan like Calvin University. For Bill Corner, the director of security at Calvin University, it’s lack of access to police channels for private institutions that he’d like to see change.
The police feeds are now encrypted, meaning if a crime is happening nearby Calvin’s campus, campus security may not know unless police alert them.
“And that’s something that if you’re looking at the timeliness of an incident, you want to make sure you have the most information possible as quickly as possible,” Corner said.
