Three Franklin County school districts will share $742,119 in state funds to help eliminate lead, mold, asbestos and other environmental hazards, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Secretary of Education Khalid N. Mumin have announced.
The three Franklin County schools — Waynesboro Area School District, Franklin County Career and Technology Center and Fannett-Metal School District — are among 109 Pennsylvania school districts, career and technical education centers and charter schools sharing in the state grants.
Waynesboro will receive $151,635; Franklin County CTC, $543,887; and Fannett-Metal, $46,597.
In his first two budget addresses, Shapiro pledged to secure sustainable funding to improve school facilities, and this grant program will help eliminate lead and asbestos along with other environmental contaminants in schools to ensure every student can learn in a safe and healthy school.
“I promised to help our school districts provide safe, healthy places for our students to learn. And that’s why I’ve fought for and delivered environmental repair funding as one piece of an historic investment in public education through my first 18 months in office,” Shapiro said.
Munin noted, “This funding will enable schools to repair buildings and provide students and school staff with safe air to breathe, water to drink, and classrooms to learn in.”
The local grants are among $79 million made available in the Commonwealth’s budget for school safety and environmental improvements. The largest award, $7.9 million, went to the Antietam Middle-Senior High School to help with recovery from devastating flooding last year.
