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Board approves capital funds for paging‑system upgrade covering 15 schools
Summary
Cabarrus County Schools approved funding and vendor recommendation on Nov. 10 to upgrade paging systems at 15 schools as part of a phased capital plan; staff said the approach replaces central controllers to reduce cost, with district technicians onsite during vendor work.
Cabarrus County Schools' board voted Nov. 10 to approve a capital‑fund paging‑system project for 15 schools, a phased step in a broader multi‑year plan to modernize school intercom and paging infrastructure.
District technology and facilities staff told the board the awarded bid represented the lowest overall cost and the top score on the district’s technical rubric, which weighed technical sufficiency, vendor experience and support. Staff said the project focuses on replacing the central "head end" of the system to move from analog to digital control and avoid the much higher cost of rewiring every campus.
Staff described four main categories of exclusions in the vendor scope: troubleshooting existing issues (broken wiring or zones), electrical infrastructure (vendor will not supply site power), network communications (district staff will make final network connections) and safety/background checks (vendors will sign into the district's Lobby Guard system and district staff will be onsite during work).
Board members and staff discussed cost scenarios. The district said an original full‑replacement estimate was roughly $4 million, but a phased approach could reduce that. The current tranche for 15 schools was funded in the capital request (approximately $800,000); staff said the total to finish remaining campuses could be in the $800,000–$2,000,000 range depending on assessment of need and new construction savings.
A motion to approve the capital funds and contract for the paging project carried by voice vote. Staff said work would begin immediately upon contract execution and the goal is to have initial sites underway before the end of the month and substantial completion through early spring.
The board asked staff to continue assessing which campuses still need replacement and to include follow‑up funding requests in upcoming budget cycles as appropriate.
