$3.2 M. DESIGNATED TO SECURE NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS AFTER PITTSBURGH ATTACK

TAMAR BEERI

The Tree of Life synagogue was attacked in October 2018 by an active shooter during Shabbat morning services. During the attack, 11 people were killed and seven were injured.

Governor Wolf Joins Pittsburgh in Mourning After Tragic Shooting in the Tree of Life Synagogue. (photo credit: FLICKR)

A bout $3.2 million were designated to secure nonpublic schools, including nine Jewish day schools and yeshivas, one year after the deadly synagogue shooting at the Tree of Life congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Lawmakers, including Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wold and the state legislature, secured the additional funds and expanded safety opportunities for at-risk schools in the budget for the 2019-2020 school year, according to a press release by Teach PA, a division of Teach Coalition which advocated for quitable government funding for Pennsylvania nonpublic schools.

Pennsylvania was the first state in the US to fund security personnel at nonpublic schools through the Safe Schools Targeted Grant Program.

“We thank Governor Wolf and our state legislators for awarding these funds to nonpublic schools, making our students and educators safe,” said Teach PA Executive Director Arielle Frankston-Morris.

Teach Coalition Director of State Political Affairs Dan Mitzner said, “With continued teamwork, we hope to achieve even more, to keep all Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren and at-risk institutions safe.”

The bill that allowed the funds to be secured was passed in June. Limited funds created a competitive applicant field, meaning that there was a limit to the number of candidates that may receive a grant.

Recipient schools are able to use the funding immediately and apply it to eligible safety expenditures going back to July 2019.

The program was largely advanced after the Tree of Life synagogue was attacked in October 2018 by an active shooter during Shabbat morning services. During the attack, 11 people were killed and seven were injured, making it the deadliest act of antisemitism in US history.