Following a rise in anti-Semitism across the United States and bomb threats targeting two Jewish centers within the county including the CESJDS Upper School, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has submitted a $225,000 security funding grant request on behalf of multiple Jewish institutions to the Montgomery County Council.

JDS submitted three separate grant requests in January, and Leggett proceeded to speed up the process by submitting a request to the county council in early March. The council will vote on the grant in early April. If approved, funds will be allocated to JDS as well as to the JCC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

“Given the serious nature of recent anti-Semitic threats, I believe it is prudent and urgent that we assist the Jewish community in protecting their schools, their offices, and their community services facilities in Montgomery County,” Leggett wrote in his request to the council. “These organizations have invested significant resources for safety upgrades. However, more is needed.”

According to Marc McNeal, JDS Director of Transportation, Safety and Security, if the grant is approved, the JDS Upper School and Lower School campuses will share the funding. This will be used to install bullet resistant glass or breakage resistant glass with one-way film on certain windows. Funds will also be used to purchase additional security cameras and electronic access controls for doors that do not currently have a system installed.

Dean of Students Roslyn Landy said that the top goal of the school is to ensure that the students are as safe as possible. The school constantly strives to update their security system and to ensure that they have the most advanced technology possible, she said.

“The school’s first priority is always the safety, security and well-being of all of our students.  It is an awesome responsibility to be in charge of hundreds of children each day, and we take our role seriously,” Landy said in a statement.

Sophomore Isaac Gelb does not feel any concerns regarding the current security of the school.

“I think that I already feel pretty safe in this school and I’m not afraid of any danger while I’m here,” sophomore Isaac Gelb said.

In addition to the security updates that are funded by the grant, the school will also be increasing security for the upcoming school year. In addition to the school’s full-time security guards, there will also be a police officer present on both campuses during arrival and dismissal on all regular school days, which is a shift from this year when there was only a police officer at arrival and dismissal for two-hour shifts twice a week on each campus.  

“Hopefully, we will not receive any additional threats but we are prepared to handle them if they occur,” McNeal said.