Uvalde parents demand financial transparency over school security grants
During Monday night's school board meeting, Uvalde citizens demanded financial transparency regarding the millions of dollars in grants announced last week aimed at strengthening school security before children return to the classroom this September.
"We just saw lump sum $100,000 here, $500,000 here," one community member said during the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District meeting. "Now what I would like to see is further breakdown. OK, who is that money going to?"
The school board announced last week that it plans to spend more than $3.5 million on projects such as replacing locks, installing fences and hiring more counselors. The school district received grants from the state of Texas, the Department of Justice and the Las Vegas Raiders football team to fund these projects.
Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
The district also outlined its plan to offer remote classes this year in response to parents' concerns that their children do not feel comfortable returning to school in person.
Becky Reinhardt, the administrator for virtual learning, said there would not be a limit on the number of students who can be virtual, and that students could switch back to in-person learning whenever they wanted.
For their part, the school board members did not speak much about the massacre that killed 21 people in May. They did not answer when asked about the progress of fence-building at the other schools, the likelihood they would conduct their own investigation or the timing of Police Chief Pete Arredondo's termination hearing, which has been delayed twice.
The board will meet next Monday to hear community grievances.
