The system allows for automated background checks by scanning campus visitors' state issued IDs or driver's licenses.
The district has scanners at Marietta Middle, Marietta Sixth Grade Academy and Park Street Elementary, but visitors to other schools had to be scanned in at the central office. The $18,504 purchase from Houston-based Raptor Technologies, Inc. provides for scanners at all the district's schools. Names may also be manually entered into the scanners, said Preston Howard, assistant superintendent of operations and policy development.
The scanners print out a sticker for visitors to wear as an identification badge.
Howard said names can be typed into the national sex offender registry free of charge, but this purchase allows for instant identification.
"You're paying for the ability to take that card and automatically scan it," he said. "...This is just a deterrent and a way of ensuring that people don't slip through the cracks."
The board approved the purchase, which was funded by a grant secured by the Marietta Police Department, in a vote of 5-0, with members Stuart Fleming and Tom Cheater absent.
"We truly appreciate the partnership we have with the police department. They were critical in helping us obtain that funding," board member Jill Mutimer said.
Follow us on Twitter!
Also..the scanned drivers license info is uploaded and stored on the service provider's servers.
I frankly don't care about having my license scanned. I think it is a grand idea. But if someone files a privacy issue lawsuit, it will cost quite a bit to defend.
Remember, violence has taken place even with preventive measures in place and no system is perfect. Despite all the high technology, the most effective strategy is the physical presence of a responsible adult.
Technology isn't a panacea so the system needs to remember that this type of technology is a supplement to, but not a substitute for, a comprehensive school safety program.
GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't think that this system eliminates the need for front office personel to meet visitors, check their ID, scan it, wait for a result, print a badge, initial it and then hand it out.
There's the cost for terminals and I am sure there is an additional monthly/yearly subscription fee.
If visitors can be verified for free via the internet I think the cost of a wireless netbook computer specifically for that purpose would have been far far less expensive.
What are we "saving" by implementing this? A little bit of time? Mere seconds maybe...
What are we gaining? A false sense of security?
C'mon...how many incidences of a sex offender entering our schools have we documented demonstrating a need for this expensive system?
It would have been far more cost effective to implement a simple policy change to check visitors against the free database and buy a few inexpensive netbooks to have achieved the exact same end result.
Is this where we need our money to be spent in these tough financial times?
$18,000 could buy a lot of textbooks or other supplies that students do not have and could certainly use to be more successful in the classroom.
But, we still don't have an auditorium at the High School...so there is proof that they all don't agree on things- some voted for, more against- therefore no auditorium.