The Daviess County Board of Education approved a contract Thursday to implement a districtwide safety platform designed to help school staff request assistance more quickly during medical emergencies, behavioral incidents, security threats, and other situations requiring an immediate response.
The four-year agreement will bring the CENTEGIX Safety Platform to all 18 Daviess County Public Schools buildings, the district’s central office, and maintenance department staff. Approximately 1,500 employees who work in school buildings will receive wearable emergency alert badges, while substitute teachers will be issued badges whenever they are working on a DCPS campus.
The platform includes CrisisAlert, a wearable badge that allows staff to quickly request assistance or initiate a campus lockdown with precise location information and 911 notification. It also includes visitor management software that screens and tracks visitors, manages security alerts, and monitors student check-in and check-out activities. It also offers with Safety Blueprint, a digital mapping system that provides first responders and staff with real-time access to building layouts and other critical safety information.
Superintendent Charley Broughton said the district will pay for the system using proceeds from the sale of the former DCPS Learning Center, meaning no general fund dollars will be used.
If activated with three clicks, the badge alerts school administrators that assistance is needed. Pressing the badge eight or more times initiates the highest-level emergency response, including a 911 notification.
“What I think is a great piece of it is how simplistic it is to use,” Broughton said. “It is literally a click of about a credit card-size [badge] three times, and that notifies the school-level administration that there’s a need. … If the greatest of needs happen, hit it eight-plus times, and it makes the 911 call and does everything for the system.”
Broughton said the platform is intended to build on the district’s existing safety measures rather than address a specific shortcoming.
“I do believe in time, when it’s all up and running, it will be a very welcomed addition to our school system,” he said.
During discussion, Broughton said the district expects installation to begin as soon as the contract is finalized, with implementation across the district anticipated around fall break.
He also pointed to positive experiences from other Kentucky school districts already using the technology.
“We’re not a guinea pig in this,” Broughton said. “There are some people that I respect highly … and they said it has been even better than they could have imagined.”
Broughton said the platform’s value extends beyond active threats and can help staff respond more quickly to medical emergencies or other situations where immediate assistance is needed.
“Seconds matter,” board member Trey Pippin said, with Broughton adding: “Every second, that’s so key.”
Following Thursday’s meeting, Broughton told district employees in an email the platform provides “an additional layer of protection across every DCPS school campus” and said staff will receive training before the system becomes active. He also noted that badge location tracking is activated only when a badge is used during an emergency.
“Safety of our students and staff in our schools remains our highest priority,” Broughton wrote to employees.
Board Chair Tom Payne said the district’s approach to school security should continue to evolve.
“School safety is never a one-and-done thing,” Payne said. “If we’re not moving forward, then we’re moving back.”
The board approved the contract unanimously.
