In a move to enhance school security, Habersham County’s Board of Education approved systemwide adoption of Contegix – a remote crisis alert system.
The item passed by unanimous vote at a regular meeting Monday, Oct. 21.
Around $189,800 will be allocated from Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds to install Centegix across all campuses. The remote emergency alert system is a privately-managed network capable of tightening security in realtime.
In the event of a medical or security emergency, a badge carried by all faculty members could notify authorities, identify the location of a potential threat and lockdown a school campus within seconds.
Annual fees for maintenance, wireless backup and updates for all Habersham schools would be just over $106,000.
School officials said the decision to implement the new system was well in the making before the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School left four dead and nine injured.
Habersham Board of Education Chairman Doug Westmoreland said he believes Contegix will strengthen safety across all 14 school campuses and potentially save lives in the event of an emergency.
“We were already looking into this well before the Apalachee incident,” Westmoreland told Now Habersham. “We were actually talking about this earlier at the beginning of the school year. I think it’s something that’s really going to empower teachers for the safety of our students. We want to get this in their hands as soon as possible. As a board, we are very, very aware of safety and we want to make that one of our top priorities.”
Assistant Superintendent Patrick Franklin expressed similar sentiment last week.
“The Habersham County School System met with Centegix in early August – before the tragedy in Apalachee – regarding information gathering and pricing for implementation of the safety platform in all Habersham County schools,” Franklin said. “We are always looking for additional programs that can enhance current measures in place related to school safety.”
The system, credited with saving lives during the Sept. 4 tragedy at Apalachee, was also approved by White County’s School System earlier this month.
The White County School System is now in the process of installing the Centegix system in its schools.
“With all the safety initiatives, we’re looking at getting better and better and better,” Habersham’s Director of School Safety Murray Kogod said. “In light of what happened at Apalachee – especially in circumstances where you’re talking about an active shooter or a serious medical emergency – the two most important things are information and time. We believe Centegix is going to help us with both.”
Franklin called Contegix a critical new addition when paired with the school system’s existing security infrastructure.
“This system, coupled with other school safety measures implemented at all Habersham County schools – (such as) access control system and surveillance camera system – provide for additional safety measures that support and further our continued focus on making Habersham County schools safe learning environments for our students, faculty, and staff,” he said.
