Two days before Florida shooting, Trump proposed $25 million cut to school safety

Just two days before 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz walked into his former school in Florida and shot dead 17 people this Wednesday, the Trump administration proposed cutting millions of dollars from federal programs designed to prevent crime in schools and to assist students in recovery from tragedies, according to a report from POLITICO.

Funds essential for things such as hiring counselors and intervention programs will be on the chopping block in the Trump administration’s 2019 fiscal request.

Trump wants to cut $25 million designated for “national school safety activities,” POLITICO reports.

President Donald Trump’s budget would eliminate altogether a $400 million grant program that districts can use, for example, to prevent bullying or provide mental health assistance.

Trump’s budget would also zero out the School Emergency Response to Violence program, known as Project SERV — funded at $1 million in 2017 — that in years past provided millions in funds used by the district in Newtown. However, Hill said that the grant program’s funds carry over from year to year and the department projects that a current $5.2 million balance will be sufficient to meet needs through the next fiscal year.

In a speech this Thursday, Trump said school safety was his “top priority.”

“Later this month, I will be meeting with the nation’s governors and attorney generals, where making our schools and our children safer will be our top priority,” Trump said.

“It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make that difference,” he added.

Featured image via Matt Johnson (Flickr