Habersham County’s Board of Education is taking a closer look at school security through possible adoption of a new crisis alert system.
Now Habersham has gathered more information on the newly-proposed security measures presented at a work session Tuesday, Oct. 15.
If approved, around $189,800 would be allocated from Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds to install Centegix across all campuses systemwide. 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 threat and lockdown a school campus within seconds.
Annual fees for maintenance, wireless backup and updates across all 14 schools would be just over $106,000.
The consideration for enhanced security by board members comes about six weeks after a school shooting at Apalachee High School left four dead and nine injured. But school officials said plans to install Centegix was well in the making before the Apalachee incident.
“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,” Assistant Superintendent Patrick 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.
“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 addition to 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.
The White County School System is now in the process of installing the Centegix system in its schools.
Habersham County’s Board of Education will decide whether to proceed with installation of the Centegix system during a regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21.
