The Iowa Board of Regents has asked state lawmakers for more than two million dollars to implement new security measures recommended by a special commission last year. And despite a campus shooting in Illinois, Iowa Governor Chet Culver is reiterating his position that Iowa’s public universities should cover the cost of campus security on their own.
Culver’s spokesperson, Brad Anderson, says there should be room in the school’s annual budgets. “The governor did provide a $50 million increase in funding to the Regents,” Anderson said, “and he does expect them to use that funding to make public safety, especially campus security, a top priority.”
The Regents had hoped the campus security provisions would not have to come out of their salary and operations budgets. Anderson says government is having to “tighten it’s belt” and points out that many other state agencies will see no increase in funding.
The new security measures, including cell phone alerts and outdoor warning systems, were recommended by a special commission last year. The commission was appointed in the wake of the shooting at Virginia Tech…the governor’s alma mater.