Post by title1parent on May 23, 2009 6:30:29 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1587819,2_1_AU23_BATSECURITY_S1.article
Tech protection: Batavia beefing up school security
May 23, 2009
By DENISE LINKE For The Beacon News
BATAVIA -- All eight schools in the Batavia School District, as well as the Rosalie Jones district headquarters, will be sharing an electronic security system by Christmas.
Administrators are narrowing down a field of 17 bidders on the building security project and hope to recommend a bid winner in June, said Chief Information Officer Anton Inglese. The number of bidders and the technical complexity of the project have delayed it by about two months, he said.
Once the system is in place, staff members will no longer have keys to district facilities. All doors will have electronic locks tied to a computer network, and each staff member will have a personal code to lock and unlock them.
"It's tough to track hard keys. Once they get out, they're gone," Inglese said. "The personal ID codes will let us know who comes in any door at any time, and when people leave (the district), we can lock their code out of the system without having to rekey any locks."
The system also will include nearly 300 digital security cameras that will feed video signals to a central computer. Batavia firefighters and police officers also will be able to watch the video in real time, Inglese said.
Both components will be built on the district's existing computer and security networks.
"We want to leverage the assets we have now and build a better system that incorporates them," Inglese explained.
Backup electrical systems will power the security system during power outages. Administrators researched wireless cameras, but decided they're not yet market-ready, added Terry Tamblyn, a former school superintendent who now runs an educational technology consulting firm in Oswego.
School Board member Jayne Resek asked if the system could allow students to pay for lunches and school store purchases by using their ID badges to access online accounts, but Tamblyn said adding that functionality would be impractical and costly.
The district will pay for the security system using bond revenue from the 2007 referendum, said School Superintendent Jack Barshinger.
Tech protection: Batavia beefing up school security
May 23, 2009
By DENISE LINKE For The Beacon News
BATAVIA -- All eight schools in the Batavia School District, as well as the Rosalie Jones district headquarters, will be sharing an electronic security system by Christmas.
Administrators are narrowing down a field of 17 bidders on the building security project and hope to recommend a bid winner in June, said Chief Information Officer Anton Inglese. The number of bidders and the technical complexity of the project have delayed it by about two months, he said.
Once the system is in place, staff members will no longer have keys to district facilities. All doors will have electronic locks tied to a computer network, and each staff member will have a personal code to lock and unlock them.
"It's tough to track hard keys. Once they get out, they're gone," Inglese said. "The personal ID codes will let us know who comes in any door at any time, and when people leave (the district), we can lock their code out of the system without having to rekey any locks."
The system also will include nearly 300 digital security cameras that will feed video signals to a central computer. Batavia firefighters and police officers also will be able to watch the video in real time, Inglese said.
Both components will be built on the district's existing computer and security networks.
"We want to leverage the assets we have now and build a better system that incorporates them," Inglese explained.
Backup electrical systems will power the security system during power outages. Administrators researched wireless cameras, but decided they're not yet market-ready, added Terry Tamblyn, a former school superintendent who now runs an educational technology consulting firm in Oswego.
School Board member Jayne Resek asked if the system could allow students to pay for lunches and school store purchases by using their ID badges to access online accounts, but Tamblyn said adding that functionality would be impractical and costly.
The district will pay for the security system using bond revenue from the 2007 referendum, said School Superintendent Jack Barshinger.