USD 235 installs new fire, smoke alarm systems with grant funds

UNIONTOWN -- Students, teachers and staff at West Bourbon Elementary School, as well as community members, can feel a little safer in the halls and classrooms now thanks to a grant from the Walmart Foundation.

In 2016, USD 235 in collaboration with the Center for Learning Tree Institute received a state giving grant from the Walmart Foundation. Grant funds provided for the purchase and installation of a new fire alarm system and smoke alarms throughout the elementary school.

WBE Principal Tyler Jackman said the district received $71,500 in grant funds. The district applied for the grant last spring and was awarded the grant July 1.

"What drove this, after our last fire marshal state inspection last year, it was indicated to the district the fire panel in the elementary school did not have a battery backup," he said. "After investigating a little further, it was found our panel was obsolete and too old to install a battery backup. So we began looking at other alternatives to comply with state fire code."

School officials began a search for funding sources and received help from the Center for Learning Tree Institute and also the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center at Greenbush.

"It was one of those things where you need to comply and come up with a solution of some sort," Jackman said.