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Platte County school board approves advertisement of bids for electronic key retrofit after security concerns
Summary
The Platte County School Board voted to advertise bids for an electronic key retrofit to tighten key control across district buildings, after staff described a lack of records for master keys, a retrofit approach that preserves existing hardware, and a ballpark cost estimate of $200,000–$300,000.
The Platte County School Board voted to advertise bids for the purchase and installation of an electronic key retrofit intended to improve building security and key tracking across the district. District staff told the board they have no clear records of where long‑circulating master keys ended up and that a retrofit cylinder system would give the district much better key control without the expense of installing powered card readers on every door.
District staff explained the retrofit replaces mechanical cylinders with electronic cylinders and retains existing door hardware, which lowers costs and installation complexity. As technology staff explained, the retrofit does not provide continuous, real‑time door logs the way a full powered access system does: "This system is more about budget and it's a retrofit," the technology staff said, adding that key‑use data is retrieved when keys are validated and synced at the office on a weekly basis.
Facilities staff emphasized the tradeoffs: it is less costly than powering every door but requires a weekly validation process and would not immediately prevent a person with a physical (retrofit) key from entering interior classrooms during an emergency. "We need to really decide to do something," the facilities presenter said, arguing the retrofit is preferable to repeated costly rekeying. On cost, the presenter gave a ballpark estimate "somewhere between $200,000 to $300,000." The district indicated the work would be funded from the major maintenance fund.
Board members asked whether the retrofit would allow districtwide lockdowns and how the solution addressed cloned fobs; staff said perimeter badges for exterior doors would remain in place for real‑time perimeter access control and that the retrofit’s logging is not real time but can be centrally controlled by building or by key when validated.
The motion before the board was to advertise bids — a procurement step to solicit competitive proposals — not to award a contract. The board approved the advertisement of bids by voice vote.
What happens next: staff will advertise the district solicitation and return to the board with bid results and a recommended contract award. The advertisement approval does not bind the district to a vendor or final price.
