Edcouch-Elsa ISD Awarded $3.25M Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) Grant
Edcouch-Elsa, Texas – November 28, 2023 – Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District proudly announces the receipt of a grant totaling $3,253,575 under the Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) Grant. This grant, a crucial component of the 2022-2025 School Safety Standards Formula Grant, has been allocated to assist local educational agencies in achieving compliance with the safety standards outlined in Section B of the 2022-2025 School Safety Standards Formula Grant application.
During the November 27th School Board Meeting, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Benavides, underscored crucial activities covered by the grant, "I'm going to highlight the allowable activities, fencing is allowable as number one, two is exterior doors, three is glass exterior doors not within a secured area, number four ground level exterior windows, number five silent-panic alert technology, which we have the Raptor system, number six other required components and number seven installation of aforementioned components."
Dr. Benavides highlighted urgent needs within the district, stating, "We do have some schools that are in need of fixing their fire alarms. We put in a question to TEA (Texas Education Agency) and haven't gotten a response yet. We are hoping they allow us to cover that cost. To repair those two alarm systems is about $200,000 a piece." Executive Director for Finance and Operations, Amanda L. Najar shared, “Full financial transparency is important and we plan to share status updates on our website so that the community knows where the district is at with spending the grant funds as suggested by Mr. Rolando Lozano, Board President.”
While the SAFE Grant represents a significant boost in funding, certain limitations govern its utilization. Dr. Benavides shared, "We had 4.4 million allocated for security in our bond, which we didn't get, but this 3.2 million that we're getting we're hoping to take care of some of those costs based on the allowable expenses."
The allocation of $800 million by the 88th Texas Legislative Session is dedicated to supporting school systems in fulfilling essential safety standards. However, it's important to note that the SAFE Grant cannot be used for various purposes outside the defined allowable activities. Dr. Benavides emphasized, "The SAFE Grant cannot be used for audit services for state funded grants, field trips, travel for students for conferences, cost for membership in civic or community organization, hosting or sponsoring conferences, advisory council, out of state travel, travel costs for officials such as executive directors, superintendents, or board members, administrative costs, stipends for non-employees, non-employee costs for conferences and any costs other than those listed above in the allowable activity section."
Edcouch-Elsa ISD remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of its students and staff.