In response to a tragic school shooting in St. Louis last year, the state of Missouri has taken a proactive step by offering a complimentary emergency alert app to school districts across the region.

Branson Public Schools created a new director of school safety position to coordinate ongoing efforts to secure its people and campuses.

Governor Mike Parson announced that 169 schools across the state have been awarded grants from the School Safety Grant Program. Fourty-two of them are in the Ozarks.

The School Safety Grant Program covers costs of both physical security upgrades as well as technology upgrades and equipment that would be used during medical emergencies.