Security guard Jim Green greets and fist bumps students as they get off the bus for their first day of school at Broad Street Elementary School. Laura Welsh/Special to the Eagle

Various Butler County public and private schools received grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s school safety and security committee.

The grants are part of the committee’s 2024-25 school safety and mental health grants.

State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, said in a news release Tuesday, Dec. 3, that schools across her district were awarded $977,000 in school safety and mental health grants.

The purpose of the school safety and mental health grants solicitation is to offer an opportunity for schools to use funding to address school safety needs, according to the Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s 2024-25 funding announcement.

Individual funding for eight public districts and the Butler County Area Vocational Technical School range from $70,000 to just over $232,000. North Catholic High School, St. Wendelin School and Butler Catholic School also received grants ranging between $60,000 and $75,000.

Knoch School District, which will receive about $137,000, said it will use grant funding to support the services of its district social worker and mental health clinician.

“The mental health of our students is vitally important not only to their growth and happiness but also to their ability to learn and develop as successful young people who look toward a bright future. These professionals play an important role in our schools. This grant helps us provide that support for our students,” assistant superintendent Melissa Grantz said in a statement.

Eric Ritzert, Karns City superintendent, said his district would use funding to hire counselors, typically graduate students from Slippery Rock University who are working on their master’s degree in counseling.

“They complement our guidance counselors and meet with students who can benefit from working with an additional counselor,” Ritzert said.

While some districts plan to use the funds for counseling and mental health purposes, other districts are more focused on safety and security.

Seneca Valley School District, receiving just over $232,000 in grants, will use funds for personnel costs of on-site school security officers across the district.

“We are grateful for this funding as it directly supports our efforts to ensure the safety and security of our schools, which remains our top priority,” Seneca Valley superintendent Tracy Vitale said in a statement.

Susan Miller, assistant superintendent of Slippery Rock Area School District, said her district will use its allotment of just over $135,000 to make several purchases, including contracting for a new mental health counselor for our district. The new counselor will provide psychological and behavioral counseling.

Miller also said the district will focus on school safety, hiring a fifth security guard and using money for updating metal detectors.

The commission’s announcement of allocations said the grants made up $100 million of total funding for schools across the state. Funding can be spent at the school’s discretion on anything falling under physical security enhancements, mental health improvements or both.