Beatrice school board hears emergency‑response mapping pitch, tables policy to get input from local emergency agencies

Beatrice Public Schools trustees on Monday heard a detailed pitch from Critical Response Group on emergency‑response mapping and voted to table a district policy that would make the district eligible for state grant funding.

Zach Cleary, regional director for Critical Response Group, said the firm creates “collaborative response graphics” — satellite‑anchored, gridded maps overlaid with accurate, on‑site‑verified floor plans, locations of AEDs and alarm panels, and standardized labels for doors and rooms. He said the maps can be integrated into 911 systems (including RapidSOS), installed in police vehicles and mobile apps, and printed as laminated paper maps for use if data connections fail. Cleary said his team has mapped more than 15,000 schools nationally and that Nebraska adopted legislative standards based on the firm's practices.

“We physically go on‑site into every single building and walk through with engineering software and we fix that base schematic to make it a 100% accurate,” Cleary said. He added the company hosts the data on a secure AWS server and offers an optional $500‑a‑year retainer for unlimited updates and version control to ensure first responders are operating from the most current maps.

Board members pressed Cleary on maintenance, access and cybersecurity. One attendee expressed worry that detailed floor plans could be misused if they were accessed by a malicious actor; that speaker said local first responders already know the buildings and questioned whether sharing the maps beyond local agencies was necessary.

Cleary responded that his firm has not experienced a data breach and that the maps can be distributed only to agencies the district authorizes. “We handle the version control of public safety,” he said, and noted the maps can be provided in multiple formats so outside agencies without integrated systems can still access paper copies at an incident.

Trustees said they wanted to hear directly from the county and city emergency management offices and local police and fire officials before adopting Policy 3241, a policy board members were told is required in order to apply for the state grant program. At the meeting, trustee Janet moved to table the policy until the November board meeting so the district could seek input from local and state public‑safety partners; Lisa seconded and the motion passed.

Mister Alexander, who helped arrange the presentation, said approving Policy 3241 would be a first step to apply for grant funds and would not obligate the district to purchase mapping services without further review. Jason, who oversees district finance reporting, confirmed the policy is needed to pursue the announced grant funding and that financing options could follow if the board chose to proceed.

Next steps, as discussed at the meeting, include inviting county emergency management and local public‑safety officials to brief the board and gathering additional information about local system compatibility and cybersecurity safeguards before the board takes a final vote on the policy at a future meeting.