Vigo Co. Council to fund School safety

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - It's been almost three months since the Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
But locally, Vigo County schools are still finalizing plans to prevent a similar attack right here.
   
The Vigo County Council tonight voted on plans to add a special deputy in every rural elementary and middle school. The proposal has already passed in the city of Terre Haute as well as the Vigo County School Corporation.
    
So tonight's vote was about approving the final 135,000 dollars needed to make Sheriff Greg Ewing's plan a reality.
    
Vigo county parents, teachers, and staff turned out in huge numbers to attend the county council meeting. Prior to the vote, several parents and principals spoke to the council in favor of the proposed program.
    
In the end the county council voted unanimously to approve the program funds as a grant.
    
Here's how it broke down:

105,000 dollars will come out of the CAGIT fund or County Adjust Gross Income Tax Fund. This is the fund that provides for the Sheriff's Department's budget. But the other 30,000 dollars will come from the County Prosecutor's office.

With this final part of the budget, the Sheriff says this is what happens when a community comes together.

"You know it's phenomenal to live in a community where we can all come together and say you know what? This is the right thing to do this is what's gonna protect our children,” Sheriff Ewing said.

While the county council looks to continue the program beyond this year.

“Moving forward hopefully it will be an annual budget issue in the future and the program will show that it is working and that hopefully we will be able to support it in the future," County Council President Bill Thomas said.