Campuses within Cumberland County Schools will soon have a new security system in place that tracks visitors entering and exiting school property.
The county Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to award a contract to Raptor Technologies, a company that provides digital campus security to school districts. The contract will cost more than $196,000 in initial, one-time funding and an additional $60,175 in annual funding.
Local taxpayer dollars will not be used to cover the costs. A grant through the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will fund the security system.
The web-based system, according to school officials, will create visitor badges that include a photo, sign-in time and the visitor’s destination on campus. If unauthorized access to campus is attempted, the system will notify members of the school staff.
“We clearly heard that this was something that our parents were very interested in, making sure that they know that everybody in the school building is supposed to be there,” said Kevin Coleman, associate superintendent of auxiliary services, during a presentation on the technology to the Board of Education.
The system comes with a hefty price compared to those of other contractors. Another company considered for the contract offered a one-time cost of just under $133,000 and an annual cost of nearly $42,000.
Coleman said school officials chose Raptor Technologies, even with the higher price tag, because of the user interface.
“Raptor is made specifically for K-12, and so everything that goes in there is specifically for checking students in and out, a very easy-to-use interface,” Coleman said.
The system also integrates well with other security systems CCS uses, Coleman said.
The district is not the only one in North Carolina that contracts with Raptor Technologies. Thirty other school systems in the state contract with the company, according to CCS.
Ben Sessoms covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at bsessoms@cityviewnc.com.
