Recently, funds were made available to Chambers County schools to help pay for security enhancements.

It was announced by State Rep. Bob Fincher that more than $434,000 has been made available to be used however the schools deem best.

Chambers County Superintendent Dr. Kelli Hodge was more than happy to use the money.

“For the current [financial] year, we’ve upgraded entirely to magnetic lock systems for all of our elementary and middle schools. After Oct. 1, the rest of the funds will go toward upgrading security cameras at county high schools. They were very outdated,” the superintendent said.

In these times of mass shootings that are tragically happening far too often, the need for good security in schools cannot be understated and Chambers County has not slouched in this effort.

Hodge noted that the upgrades made had been on a list of future projects for some time, but the cost was something they could not overcome and the schools were stuck with outdated but functional equipment.

Everyone wants to keep the school’s safe. The state legislature has done its part in making funds available and the schools have made sure the money is spent wisely.

Hopefully, the near future will see even more funds become available. Hodge has already picked out what she would like to spend additional dollars on. Specifically, she wants to see at least three more school resource officers on the campuses.

“In a utopia, we would have one per school, 11 in total,” she said. “But right now we would like to have three more. It would be a huge gain.”

Whether the money comes in to get three officers or eight, it would be money well spent.