Jackson County BOE votes to roll out wearable panic buttons for staff use in emergencies
JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — During the same week Jackson County Schools launched a new mobile weapons detection system, the Jackson County Board of Education approved an additional security measure to provide staff with emergency panic buttons.
Jackson County Superintendent Will Hosaflook said the board voted 5-0 to partner with a company called Centengix that will provide all staff with the wearable buttons. Hosaflook demonstrated that pushing the button three times would signal an in-house response.
“At that point, an administrator, the school nurse, possibly, the PRO officer, they’ll receive an instant notification on their cell phone or on their computer or some sort of technology device," he said. "It will actually pinpoint where that button was pressed and that teacher is in need of assistance. It could be anything. It could be a medical emergency or an unruly student."
The button has capabilities that go even further than that. It is a discreet way to also signal even bigger emergencies that would garner a 911 response and school lockdown.
“For example, I’m driving on Ripley High School's campus in the morning. I look over, and I see someone with a weapon. I can press this button a minimum of eight times, and they will tell you, you press it until you see alarms going off, and it puts the entire school on lockdown," Hosaflook said.
The school system is on a 90-day implementation period to get all the gear in that will include the gateway and the strobes for the classrooms that will signal the emergency type. From there, they will start training.
“These are strobes that are placed in every single classroom, every single hallway, outside, inside, on the football field, wherever, " he said. "People will know when this lights up red that means we’re in code red lockdown. If it lights blue, that may be soft lockdown where we’re just going to look the doors. There’s something going on outside of campus, but we need to stay in our classrooms.”
Jackson is the third county in the state to start this. Hosaflook said there was an effort to fund this statewide but fell short in the Legislature. He said he wants it to continue to be a priority.
The Jackson BOE approved the cost of $244,880 to launch the program. There will be a $128,540 annual cost to keep it going. Hosaflook said investments in student and staff safety have to be top of the list.
“Student safety should be number one in our budget, and that’s the way the board of education feels, and I’m so thankful to be in this community," Hosaflook said.
