Staff at every School District of Manatee County campus now wear panic-button badges that, when pressed, pull up live security camera feeds for first responders.

The mandate covers all district campuses. The Business Observer reported the district is the first in the nation to link wearable panic buttons made by Centegix with cloud-based video from OpenEye. Centegix's own press release used softer language, calling Manatee "among the first districts" to use the integration.

How the panic-badge system works

Every staff member, including substitute teachers, wears a Centegix badge. Pressing it triggers an alert to first responders with the wearer's location. The new OpenEye layer adds live video from nearby cameras, along with maps, so dispatchers can see what is happening without switching between systems.

Scott Hansen, the district's chief technology officer, told the Business Observer that with hundreds of cameras in a typical school, it is nearly impossible to pull up the right feed in real time. "Live video, maps and context will be automatically streamed directly to dispatchers and first responders, turning our cameras into a real-time response resource rather than solely a post-event tool," he said.

District says it helped shape the product

The district helped shape the product as Centegix's first pilot partner for the integration, according to Centegix CEO Brent Cobb.

Board approved contract; cost figure needs correction

The Manatee County School Board voted unanimously in May to approve the Centegix contract at an estimated $345,000 per year, according to board meeting minutes.

The district's annual cost for OpenEye is an estimated $486,000, Hansen told the Business Observer. The combined annual investment tops $831,000.

Alyssa's Law set the baseline mandate

Florida's Alyssa's Law, signed in 2020 after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, requires every public school to operate a mobile panic alert system. The law is named for Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student killed in the shooting.

The state allocated $6.4 million in recurring funds for implementation. Manatee's new video integration goes beyond that mandate by pairing the panic alert with live camera feeds.

Superintendent cites safety, investigation benefits

Superintendent Laurie Breslin told the Business Observer that the technology investment supports the district's top safety priority. The integration also simplifies post-incident investigations by pairing alert data with video footage, according to a Centegix press release issued Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The district has not announced a timeline for a public demonstration of the technology or further details on the rollout.