SMCPS Purchases Security Equipment
The St. Mary’s County Board of Education unanimously approved a $470,000 budget amendment Aug. 5 to redirect unused federal grant funding toward school security equipment and upgrades.
Tammy McCourt, deputy superintendent of fiscal and supporting services, told the board the amendment would appropriate the remaining Stronger Connections Grant funds “to support a safe learning environment” for students.
The grant was awarded to St. Mary’s County Public Schools in 2023 through the Stronger Connections Grant program, established under the federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022. The funding originally was required to be spent by September 2025, but the deadline was extended by one year to September 2026.
McCourt said the grant was intended to “provide students with safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments” while promoting trust and a sense of belonging among students and staff. According to McCourt's presentation, the grant also was intended to support students overcoming trauma and create “nurturing learning environments that provide a sense of emotional and physical safety.”
The grant previously funded five social worker positions. The grant was not extended by the Federal government, so the school system determined the positions would have to be supported through the school system's recurring budget if they continued.
Many of those positions were eliminated during the most recent budget cycle. The $470,000 in unused salary funding will instead be redirected to security-related purchases before the grant expires. McCourt told the Board of Education the purchases would exhaust the remaining Stronger Connections Grant funding.
The proposed spending includes:
$135,000 for security cameras;
$29,000 for radios;
$5,000 for Garrett metal-detecting wands;
$163,000 for a server to store camera footage; and
$69,000 each to upgrade public address systems at Ridge Elementary School and Oakville Elementary School.
The amendment was subsequently presented to the St. Mary’s County Commissioners Aug. 25, who unanimously approved the request. County approval is required for Board of Education budget realignments.
During the commissioners' discussion, Commissioner Alderson asked Charles Eible, director of safety and security for St. Mary’s County Public Schools, about access to school camera footage.
Eible said the video is maintained by the school system and that outside access is granted only by court order.
Commissioner Hewitt also asked about metal detectors in schools, following community discussion about whether the devices should be used. Eible said the school system previously conducted a pilot program at Great Mills High School. He said the technology at the time was not efficient enough to move about 2,000 students through the screening process quickly enough and that logistical challenges made the use of metal detectors more complicated.
Superintendent Scott Smith, who also attended the meeting, said, “there is no current plan to install metal detectors at any school site.”
The spending represents a significant change from the grant's earlier use to fund social worker positions, although school officials said the remaining money is being redirected to make use of the funds before the grant expires.
