$1.2M in safety grants given to 6 Phoenix high schools for on-campus police officers

By Bridget Dowd
Published: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - 4:59pm
Updated: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 - 7:46am

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Arizona Department of Education building
Mariana Dale/KJZZ
Arizona Department of Education building in downtown Phoenix.

The Arizona Department of Education has allocated $1.2 million in safety grant funding to a group of Phoenix high schools.

The six schools in the Phoenix Union High School District applied for funds to pay for law-enforcement officers on campus.

They include Cesar Chavez, Maryvale, Metro Tech, South Mountain, Trevor Browne and North high schools.

The announcement comes after the district’s governing board approved a new safety plan, seven months in the making.

In a press release Tuesday, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said data collected from the Phoenix Police Department during the 2022-2023 school year showed about 1,000 calls for service at Phoenix Union campuses.

He said they include multiple calls for shots fired, assault, persons with a gun, sexual abuse of a juvenile and stolen vehicles.

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