Recent Oregon college shooting leads Pence to order $3.5 million for school safety

The additional funds will raise the money available for this year to about $7 million. The budget allocation for the safety fund was $7 million over the next two years, or about $3.5 million a year. The additional $3.5 million requested by Pence is just for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

The governor’s office said the new money will come out of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The fire services budget had excess money from last year that was available for re-allocation.

The fund was set up in 2013 with the intent to improve school safety after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. School corporations can apply for matching grants ranging from $35,000 to $50,000, depending on the size of school. The money was intended to be used for equipment, fencing, cameras or a school resource officer.

The fund was originally set for $20million, but that number was slashed to $7 million by Pence and his staff in the two-year budget approved this spring.

But the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon that left nine victims dead led to a change of heart. A newsrelease from the governor’s office stated the shooting and the “continuing safety threat across the country” was what prompted the governor to call for funds to be put back.