OKEECHOBEE — At the July 23 Okeechobee County School Board meeting Superintendent Dylan Tedders announced that the DOE will no longer be funding SchoolGuard® and proposed they look into other alert systems. SchoolGuard® is the current alert system that Okeechobee County Schools are using in the event of an active shooter situation.

In June of 2020 Alyssa’s Law was passed in Florida, which is legislation that requires public schools to be equipped with a silent panic alarm system that links directly to local law enforcement. This law was named in honor of Parkland school shooting victim Alyssa Alhadeff and is intended to decrease the response time of first responders in an emergency situation.

A system called CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™ is one the board is looking into for consideration. Unlike systems like SchoolGuard®, which rely on mobile-based apps, CENTEGIX uses a wearable panic button that will enable staff to request assistance from anywhere on campus, and it does not require cellular or Wi-Fi service to initiate an alert.

CENTEGIX provides a device that can be worn around the neck on all staff, enabling them to quickly push a button in the event of an active shooter situation. When the button is pressed it will trigger audio and visual alert notifications, including lighted strobes and desktop screen takeovers.

In comparison, SchoolGuard® requires staff to be able to reach their mobile device and touch a mobile panic button in an app. Once pressed the phone then speed dials 911 and sends a campus-wide alert while the initiator waits to speak  to emergency services.

Many schools are already using the CENTEGIX system and as Superintendent Tedders put it at the July 23 school board meeting, it’s like SafeGuard® on steroids. The issue being, the CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™ system is significantly more expensive than the system currently being used.

The board has not decided if they will continue to use SchoolGuard® or choose the more costly CENTEGIX but plan to do more research before coming to a final decision.

If you would like to know more about CENTEGIX visit www.centegix.com/ and if you would like to learn more about the current system in place, SchoolGuard®, visit guard911.com/services/schoolguard/