KINGSTON – The federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Secure Our Schools program has awarded Kingston High School and the Kingston City Police Department a $280,000 grant to expand security at the Broadway school.

District Superintendent Gerard Gretzinger said the funds will be applied toward high tech 24/7 surveillance equipment.

“One of the things we were asking for was to have money devoted to purchase some surveillance camera equipment, servers and network upgrades, for the school,” he said.

The grant money will be a “major step forward” in securing the campus to protect the students, Gretzinger said.

The current photo ID system for students and staff will also be upgraded with students being able to swipe their cards as they enter and exit areas like the cafeteria and library.

The federal funding does not include staff. The district currently has four school resource officers, two assigned to the high school.