A new $750,000 federal grant awarded to the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative will go toward supporting efforts to improve school safety, including risk assessments, staff training and emergency management.

“By spring, we will begin visiting districts and schools to do initial security risk audits,” said GRREC General Education Services Director Dan Costellow. He said GRREC will soon hire two administrative positions to oversee the program for the co-op, which currently serves more than 350 schools across western Kentucky.

Awarded by the Department of Justice through the federal STOP School Violence Prevention Program, the grant is expected to bring $750,000 over the next three years.

“We will work with local law enforcement, districts and schools to review safety plans and help them” prepare for state school safety marshal visits, Costellow told the Daily News.

GRREC’s School Threat Assessment and Anonymous Reporting program will also back regional schools with staff training tailored to their safety needs, adding peer support groups for students and tools for reporting threats anonymously.

“School safety is paramount to the continued success of our schools,” GRREC Executive Director Bart Flener said in a news release announcing the grant award. “During these challenging times of a global pandemic, school safety cannot take a back seat. We at GRREC are excited to continue to be able to help our districts by providing support for the safety of their students, adults and communities.”

Costellow, who recently took his current position at GRREC after leading Rich Pond Elementary School as principal, said additional funding for staff training and addressing safety issues will go a long way in making educators, parents and students more at ease at school.

“This ensures that schools have a comprehensive plan for addressing emergencies for school safety concerns,” Costellow said.