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The Fort Worth Independent School District Administration building at 7060 Camp Bowie Blvd on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n
Abigail Dollins<\/p>\n
Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
New safety systems will be installed in classrooms, the Fort Worth ISD Board of Managers voted at its meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The crisis alert system Centegix will provide wearable panic buttons to staff members that can notify administrators, call emergency services or put the campus on lockdown.<\/p>\n
Visitor management, including the creation of banned persons lists, the monitoring of custody agreements and logging student tardies are also part of the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about schools, students and staff\u2019s safety, and there\u2019s no priority bigger than that,\u201d Superintendent Peter Licata said.<\/p>\n
The board voted to approve the system for at least two years. The first year will be funded by the Sid Richardson Foundation, a Fort Worth based non-profit that grants funds to various sectors, including education.<\/p>\n
Board president, Pete Geren, is the CEO and president of the SId Richardson Foundation, Geren abstained from voting on the measure.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudent safety is the FWISD\u2019s highest priority. The Sid Richardson Foundation is honored to support Fort Worth ISD\u2019s efforts to invest in best-in-class technology to ensure the district stays on the leading edge of school safety,\u201d Geren said.<\/p>\n
Board members Laurie George and Jay Stegall voted not to approve the safety measures for classrooms, with Stegall citing cost concerns. If there is no additional philanthropic funding, the district will add in the cost to its budget.<\/p>\n
The increased cost in the second year is due to the contract between the district and Centegix, which allows for the district to pay only the startup and upfront costs right now, with the rest to be paid out over the next five years, FWISD Chief of Staff Louis Kushner said.<\/p>\n
The program will be voted on by the board yearly to decide whether to continue with the additional safety measures.<\/p>\n
The Argyle school district adopted the use of Centegix in 2021 and Mansfield started using it in 2023.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the district said that it has not been finalized when the safety systems will be installed in the schools, though it was approved for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, parents require us to send their child home safe and no parent is going to be able to look us in the face if something happens to their child,\u201d Kushner said. \u201cThis platform allows us further assurances that if something does take place on a campus that our staff has access quicker to law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s note: Fort Worth ISD Board of Managers chair Pete Geren is the president and chief executive officer of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, which is a funder of the Star-Telegram\u2019s Crossroads Lab. The Star-Telegram retains independence in all coverage decisions.<\/p>\n
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