Great Bend USD 428 will upgrade security by adding new “keyless” locks on 73 exterior doors throughout the district. The board of education on Monday approved a five-year contract with Nex-Tech to replace the current locks with an electronic access control system at a cost of $5,600 per month.
Superintendent Khris Thexton and Information Technology Director Ryan Axman spoke to the board about the rationale for the change as well as the cost.
This electronic locking system streamlines long-term operating costs and provides a safer building security environment through a managed access control system, Thexton said. Wireless door locks cost a fraction of the cost of a traditional hard-wired system.
Metal keys will no longer be needed to get into schools. Staff will receive key cards that are similar in size to a credit card and are coded to the door locks.
For members of the public entering buildings during the day, not much will change. The main doors at each building will be outfitted with a video door station. Guests will press the call button that will ring the office, where staff can have two-way communication with the guest, provide visual confirmation via the camera, and remotely unlock the door with the click of a mouse.
With the system, a lockdown can be implemented through the software or by activating a lockdown pull-station in the main office of each building or at the district office.
The district considered purchasing the system outright for nearly $250,000 but opted for a monthly service contract instead with Nex-Tech providing maintenance. A 36-month contract would have cost $9,335 per month ($336,060 total) and the 60-month contract costs $5,610 a month ($336,600). Axman said they expect the system will be installed this summer.
Board president Jacquie Disque said the new system will be good for staff members and for students.
“I look at the safety issue,” she said. “
HVAC Systems
purchased
In other business Monday, the board approved the purchase of 17 Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units for the state-controlled bid price of $109,382. These were purchased through a Greenbush procurement quote, Superintendent Thexton said. Every year during the summer, some of the district’s HVAC units are serviced, updated and replaced as needed. District employees provide the labor but the district does have to rent a crane to install the rooftop units, Thexton said.
School door security is an ongoing concern
Great Bend USD 428 started locking its exterior doors during the school day in 2015 and added cameras in the offices so visitors could push a buzzer for admittance. At the same time, large yellow and black signs were added above door entrances for easier identification.
Assistant Principal Daryl Moore described the upgrades in 2015:
“With the incidents that are happening in schools today, we appreciate help notifying the office of who comes into the building,” he said, adding it may seem inconvenient, but the safety of students must come first. “We hope that we do not have to call EMTs, firemen or law enforcement to the building in an emergency situation, but if we do we want to be prepared and make entry into the building as fast and efficient as possible,” Moore said.
More building changes to further secure entryways were discussed in 2018 as work began on a master plan for the district facilities. A 2019 bond election was supported by a group of community volunteers called the Committee for Safe Schools. The bond issue failed and the district planned to take a second, leaner proposal to voters in 2020. However, the school board chose not to move forward with a bond election after much of the state went into lockdown at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
