Forsyth County sheriff seeks more than $2.7M for school safety upgrades

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office has been authorized to apply for federal Congressionally Directed Spending and Community Project Funding that could provide more than $2.7 million with no local match to upgrade school radios, surveillance cameras and drones, county officials said. The 2026 county budget contains no money for the projects, prompting the sheriff’s office to pursue outside funding.

Sheriff’s Office business operations director Richard Tucker outlined equipment the request would cover: radios that pair traditional radio broadcasts with LTE and WiFi functions, camera software to integrate school surveillance with law enforcement for real-time access, and drones “for intel high above events or within schools.” Tucker said, “We want to make sure we have the fastest, most robust response possible.” He also described the request as unusually large, saying, “The funding request is significant. It’s something we feel like we have needed, but we have not made the request for these particular items.”

The Board of Commissioners unanimously authorized the sheriff’s office to seek the funding at a Feb. 24 work session where the school-safety item was on the agenda. Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Mitch Young said Feb. 25 the school district is “in full support of the security technology,” adding the sheriff-district partnership has proved to be a “game changer” for campus safety operations.

Operational context for the request centers on Forsyth’s School Resource Officer program, which partners with the Forsyth County School System to serve the fifth-largest district in Georgia. The sheriff’s recruitment site notes the district has nearly 54,000 students, 8,000 staff and 42 public school campuses, and that SRO duties include campus safety inspections, classroom presentations and school investigations. Project materials argue the radios and camera integration would “help ensure dependable communications for school resource officers within the thick walls of schools” and would give deputies faster situational awareness in emergencies.

Because the 2026 county budget did not allocate funds for radios, camera software upgrades or drones, county leaders directed the sheriff’s office to pursue federal avenues. The applications the office will submit are for Congressionally Directed Spending and Community Project Funding sources that, as described by county staff, could cover equipment costs without a local match.

A separate program in a different jurisdiction should not be conflated with the Forsyth County, Georgia request. Forsyth County, North Carolina, recently received a U.S. Department of Justice COPS “Secure Our Schools” grant of $174,617 that will replace camera equipment at Atkins High School, Parkland High School, North Forsyth High School and Southeast Middle School. That NC grant is a 50/50 match; listed contributions include $45,995 from the Forsyth County (NC) Sheriff’s Office, $24,880 from the Winston-Salem Police Department, and $7,500 from the Kernersville Police Department, with the remaining match to be provided by Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

With unanimous commissioner authorization in hand, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will move forward filing requests for federal Congressionally Directed Spending and Community Project Funding to try to secure equipment that officials say will modernize communications and give deputies immediate access to school video feeds.