Hardin County Schools staff and school resource officers spent a major portion of the board meeting describing the district’s implementation of a newly purchased school-safety system from Raptor Technologies.

District staff told the board the purchase was approved in May 2025 and installations began in September with staff training carried out in phases beginning in October. Lieutenant Mark Ellingham and Officer Larry Robinson, the district's SROs, demonstrated key features, including a panic alert badge, a mobile app and ceiling-mounted beacons that enable the system to function where cellular service is limited.

"The Raptor app is really nice because in the team assist mode, you can...summon a team assist," Lieutenant Mark Ellingham said during his presentation, describing options for summoning help for fights, medical needs and other localized incidents.

Officials described five critical alert types preconfigured in the system: soft lockdown, hard lockdown, evacuation, shelter-in-place and a new "hold" mode intended to keep students in classrooms during medical responses or other short-duration incidents. They said the beacons allow alerts and location information to work inside buildings even when cell coverage is poor.

The visitor-management function uses a driver's-license scan that checks entries against national registries and allows the district to add customized bans or authorized exceptions. The system syncs with the district’s student information software overnight so employee and roster changes update automatically, district staff said.

District presenters also described a reunification module intended for off-site evacuations. The district has MOUs with three reunification sites and has scheduled an eight-hour administrator training and a mock reunification exercise in January; Raptor trainers will lead the session, district staff said.

Board members and attendees acknowledged the cost but repeatedly described the suite as necessary. One attendee warned taxpayers often push back on such expenditures, but several board members said a single prevented incident would justify the investment.

The district said it has encountered minor deployment issues (students handling panic badges as toys), but technology staff are working with Raptor to customize settings and reduce false activations. The district invited board members to participate in the reunification drill.