First official Alyssa’s Law funds announced

JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Alyssa’s Law passed through the West Virginia Legislature, creating a fund to bring panic buttons and other life-saving technology to schools statewide.

Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, who helped create Alyssa’s Law, said, “Every teacher, every staff member equipped with a wearable panic button that allows them a literal one push to the 911 center, to local law enforcement and EMS.”

Alyssa Alhadeff was a 14-year-old who died alongside 16 other students in the Parkland school shooting in 2018. Her parents are giving the first official funds to West Virginia through the organization called Make Our Schools Safe.

“They’ll make a contribution this evening of $48,888,” Pinson said. “That number 8 is recurring because it was Alyssa’s volleyball number.”

The state Department of Education is giving $348,888 to the fund, as well.

In Jackson County, local funding helped bring in panic buttons, and deputies are required to spend time in schools every week.

Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger said the panic buttons give local law enforcement maps and an alert to their phone.

“It’s a pretty big lift to get the money and we’re looking at $9.5-10 million to get this thing done, and the sad reality is if we had a school shooting tomorrow, we would bend over backwards to get you the money then, but at that point it’s too little too late,” Mellinger said.

He said he wants to be proactive and encourages other counties to do the same.

Pinson said the cost of technology will drop over time, and Alyssa’s Law allows more safety upgrades in the future.

Pinson said Jackson County is a perfect example of what kind of upgrades are possible.

“Right here in Jackson County, they are unveiling AI driven cameras that can immediately alert the school and local law enforcement if a person of concern were to come on campus,” he said.

Leaders hope this technology can save lives across West Virginia. Pinson said the initial cost for panic buttons is about $20,000 per school and the fund is held with Homeland Security until hitting the goal of about $10 million.