JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley School District is looking for grant opportunities to help support its operations in areas such as safety and violence prevention and facility improvement.

With multimillion dollar budgets supporting hundreds to thousands of students, school districts regularly seek grants from state-level and federal departments and programs to support initiatives and operations without adding additional cost increases for local taxpayers.

At Seneca Valley school board’s Monday, Aug. 3 meeting, the board approved the district to apply for a Public-School Facility Improvement Grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). The grant would require a 25% match from the district if awarded.

Though the board did not provide specifics on what the grant money would be spent on or how much it was asking for in its grant application, eligible projects range from $500,000 to $5 million, according to the DCED. Eligible uses of such funds include roof repairs and replacement, heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, plumbing systems, energy-saving projects, accessibility projects, health and safety upgrades, internet connectivity, window replacement and demolition.

Seneca Valley is in the midst of a projected four-to-five-year-long construction project that includes a three-story addition to its intermediate high school, demolition of an academic building, connecting the intermediate and senior high schools and building a new performing arts center.

The district also plans to apply for a $230,000 grant through the School Violence Prevention Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Office. The grant would require a 25% match form the district of $57,500.

According to the DOJ, the program is designed to “improve security at schools and on school grounds in the recipient’s jurisdiction through evidence-based school safety programs.”