Isle of Wight County Schools (IWCS) has been awarded $91,200 through the Virginia School Security Equipment Grant Program to enhance safety measures at Carrollton Elementary School. The funding will be used to update classroom security door hardware and access control, strengthening protections for students and staff. Since the program began in 2013, IWCS has received nearly one million dollars in grant funding, which has supported security improvements across multiple schools in the division. “The safety of our students is always our top priority,” said Dr. Theo Cramer, Superintendent of Isle of Wight County Schools. “This funding from the state will help ensure that we are continuing to provide our students and staff with a secure learning environment.”
Legislation enacted by the 2013 General Assembly, House Bill 2343 and Item 139 C.13. of the 2013 Appropriation Act, created the School Security Equipment Grant Program for school divisions and regional programs. For the 2025–2026 grant year, the Virginia Department of Education awarded twelve million dollars in School Security Equipment Grants to 433 schools across 99 public school divisions. The grant requires a local twenty-five percent match of the state grant amount. These reimbursement-based grants support the purchase of a wide variety of equipment, including security card access systems, visitor identification badging systems, surveillance cameras, security vestibules, automated external defibrillators, internal communication systems with voice and video, hurricane or intruder security film, vaping detectors, security fences, interior school bus cameras, two-way radios, GPS tablets, identification card readers on school buses, and other security enhancements.