Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval taking multi-pronged approach to school safety

Gov. Brian Sandoval said Thursday he’s taking a multi-pronged approach to ensuring Nevada’s schools are safe.

He said he has already called the state’s superintendents to start working on ways to make Nevada schools safer. He said that will be followed by bringing teachers, students, parents and others together to address the problems and find solutions.

And he made clear he intends to ask lawmakers to consider creating a grant fund to help pay for modifications to Nevada schools such as ensuring a single point of entry. He said that’s similar to what was done in Indiana where $10 million was put in a fund to make school safety grants.

But beyond that, he said the Homeland Security Commission he chairs is calling for a $6.8 million infusion from the 2019 Legislature to add people to the Homeland Security staff to improve responses to reported threats whether to schools or other institutions in the state and to better interpret risks in a timely manner.

While the current focus is on schools, he said Nevada must go beyond that. He referenced the Oct. 1 massacre on the Las Vegas Strip that left 58 dead and hundreds injured.

He said Homeland Security Chief Caleb Cage is also being tasked to find and secure more federal grants to help with the costs of improving safety and security efforts in Nevada.

Asked whether he thinks the federal government is serious about doing something, he said President Trump was standing right next to him when he said his No. 1 priority is school safety and Speaker Paul Ryan has assured him there will be action in the House on the issue. He said he’s taking them at their word.