WV school safety requests reach $252M for weapon detection systems, security cameras and more

by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
November 12, 2025

West Virginia public schools say they need around $252 million for school safety upgrades, including security cameras, weapon detection systems and resource officers.

Not every project will be funded due to funding at the local and state level.

“There’s a big need out there for things,” said Micah Whitlow, director of the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Facilities. Whitlow presented the West Virginia school safety and security report Wednesday to state school board members.

He explained that some of the requests for safety upgrades this year are out of counties’ abilities to pay for from their own school budgets. 

Local school systems spent $40.7 million on safety expenditures during the 2024-25 school year, the school safety report said.

Jackson County had the largest safety funding request for the current school year, seeking more than $55 million for projects. The district spent $446,192 in local funds on the projects last year. 

Marion County had the second highest request at $15 million. The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind said they needed $1.5 million. 

Schools have made progress on installing safe school entries — also known as mantraps — that include a monitored single point of entry and exit with a system of doors and barriers to vet visitors. There are 401 schools with the mantraps, but 232 are still seeking around $52 million in funding to install their own. 

“In 2020, when all this started … 368 schools needed safe school entries,” Whitlow said. “There has been that gradual decline of that need due to counties, you know, taking a priority for safety and investing funds.”

Last year, state school officials said they needed $258 million for safety projects, but state and local funding fell short to accomplish many of the proposed projects. 

The 2025-26 funding requests included more than $30 million for prevention and resources officers — an annual recurring cost due to salaries and benefits. Schools also requested $30 million for security cameras to provide video covers in classrooms, outdoor areas, entries and more. 

The School Board Authority is currently mulling over how they’ll hand out $43.5 million in funding after 31 counties submitted their requests for projects, including some school safety upgrades like safe school entries. The requests submitted amounted to more than $170 million, and the SBA will make an announcement of approved projects in December. 

“It’s amazing how many counties [that] need help,” said state school board Vice President Victor Gabriel. “It’s a shame we don’t have money to grant them all. There’s some really worthwhile projects out there.”

State department of education leaders will present the school safety needs to lawmakers in the coming weeks ahead of the 2026 legislative session, when the Legislature will determine the level of public education funding and school safety funding.

Whitlow noted that some of the projected needs included a request from lawmakers about how much it would cost to put security cameras in all West Virginia schools. 

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