With school security and alerts remaining a top-of-mind concern for parents and guardians, officials in Indian Prairie District 204 recently made a vote in favor of technological upgrades.
District 204’s board of education on Monday, Feb. 26, voted unanimously in favor of a purchase agreement with the firm Rival5 for a cloud-based phone and security notification solution across all schools.
Purchase was expedited for logistical reasons
In a memo to the board of education, Superintendent Adrian Talley indicated a phone system upgrade had been on District 204’s “tech radar for the past few years” because the existing equipment and infrastructure were nearing the end of their useful life.
“Originally this change was slated to be looked at during the next school year, but to partner with upgrading the building notification and security systems, combining the phone system upgrade with notification and security made sense both from a practical and financial outlook,” Talley said.
Rival5 is planning the installation of a new cloud-based phone system. The current setup was put in place a dozen years ago.
The package includes a service, RLock, which the company touts as having the capability to offer timely notifications in the event of a crisis. RLock reportedly is equipped to alert emergency personnel instantaneously, including 911 operators.
Talley said the new system has other benefits, including a panic button that can be pushed in a critical situation.
“The ability to add speakers (and) strobe lights in areas that might need more audio coverage to hear important messages is also an added benefit,” Talley wrote in the memo.
Cost for phone system, RLock notification security
Rival5’s approved bid to District 204 includes a base $399,740.87 fee for the cloud-based phone system and hardware. Talley said the company will provide more than 3,000 phones for classrooms across Indian Prairie’s schools and administrative buildings. Beginning in July, the company also will charge an estimated ongoing monthly expense of $43,218.01 for phone service.
The separate RLock notification solution will initially cost $129,500 for setup and configuration. An additional recurring monthly monitoring fee of $3,663 will be charged to the district, beginning in July.
Photo credit: Rival5
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