Graham County voted unanimously to accept $280,000 in state funds to continue a school safety interoperability system that links school "panic buttons," cameras and local law enforcement.

County Manager Welker told the board the system — funded originally by a state legislative appropriation and now in operation across nearly every public school in Graham County — connects school devices and cameras to dispatch and to phones carried by law-enforcement leadership. "What this system does is it provides what's called a panic button or software for teachers and administrators to push if there is an emergency situation such as an active shooter in the schools," Welker said.

Welker said the Arizona Department of Administration provided a funding agreement counties must sign to receive the money; the agreement limits use of the funds to the interoperability system. He said the Mutualink vendor contract that implements the service and divides the $280,000 into per-agency pricing has not yet been received, and that the county will present the Mutualink contract to the board with line-item costs once available.

Board members pressed on the prospect of future maintenance costs and whether individual school districts will face new charges if state funding is not renewed annually. Welker said the mutual-link contract will show how costs would be apportioned and that the county has discussed the issue with legislative contacts who are optimistic the funding will continue but cautioned any grant can be cut in future budgets.

Vice Chairman David moved to approve the agreement with the Arizona Department of Administration; the board seconded the motion and approved it by voice vote. Manager Welker said the Mutualink contract with detailed pricing will be returned to the board for review and that schools and agencies will be shown per-agency costs once that contract is available.

The board’s approval authorizes the county to accept the $280,000 state appropriation and proceed toward finalizing the vendor contract; the Mutualink agreement and any per-agency cost breakdown will be the next item for board review.