By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
WEST AMWELL — The West Amwell campus of the Hunterdon County Educational Services Commission is one of 308 schools throughout New Jersey that will share $5 million in grant money for safety improvements.
The ESC school on Route 179 won a total grant award of $48,000. Forty thousand dollars will go toward making repairs to its parking lot, and the remainder is earmarked for additional safety improvements.
The $5 million in grant funds, $2 million more than was awarded last year, was announced recently by the New Jersey School Boards Association Insurance Group (NJSABIG). The organization said it plans to distribute grant awards in December at its regional membership meetings.
”Our goal with this program is to make our schools safer for the students, employees and communities they serve,” said NJSBAIG Director Marty Kalbach. “We are delighted to make safety grants available to our members again this year.”
Last year, the first year of the grant program, the group awarded $3 million in safety grants to more than 300 school districts.
In keeping with its mission to reduce the cost of risk for New Jersey public schools, the group established its safety grant program in 2009 to reward members for their commitment to risk management, NJSABIG said. The grant program provides funding for safety-related improvements that school districts otherwise might not be able to afford.
The Hunterdon County Educational Services Commission school offers both a special education program and an alternative program. The special education program serves students in preschool through 12th grade with emotional, cognitive or multiple handicaps. The alternative program serves grades seven through 12.
The school does not have a tax base, and it does not receive state aid. The school’s income comes mainly from fees for services.
NJSBAIG is the only statewide, member-owned school district joint insurance fund. The 27-year-old organization is a non-profit group that provides property, casualty and workers’ compensation insurance to public schools in New Jersey.

