The Brighton Area Schools will be receiving a nearly $99,000 grant from the Competitive School Safety Grant program to make safety and security improvements to the nine schools in the district.

The $98,948 grant will be administered by the Michigan State Police. WHMI spoke with Superintendent Greg Gray after Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, and he said the district will use the funds for making the exterior of the buildings more impervious to prevent potential safety threats. Gray also said the funds will enable Brighton to have driver’s license screenings and look for potential issues involving district volunteers.

According to Gray, the district has already made great strides in the area of student and staff safety as a result of the 2012 bond issue, which resulted in visitor vestibules and a system wherein visitors must hit an outside buzzer, which triggers two-way communication with the main office before the door is unlocked remotely and the visitor can gain entry.

Several other area schools also received Michigan State Police School Safety grants, with the Livingston Educational Service Agency - the county’s intermediate school district — getting $480,000, which will require matching funds. Howell - the largest K-12 district in the county — will get $245,000, most of which will be used to update the schools’ outdated access system. The remaining $50,000 for Howell will be used to put into place the Raptor Visitor Management System. Finally, the Hartland Consolidated School District and Light of the World Academy will each receive roughly $23,000 and the Charyl Stockwell Academy, $20,000. (TT)