North Platte trustees hear SRO safety report; district defends facial-recognition visitor system
Summary
School resource officers introduced themselves and described security practices including camera upgrades, reunification drills and an electronic check‑in system the district says uses facial-recognition linked to national registries. Trustees asked for fixes to check‑out processes; staff promised follow‑up.
School trustees on Oct. 30 heard a safety briefing from school resource officers and district staff that outlined upgrades to cameras and visitor-management systems, recent reunification drills and tools used to monitor threats.
Officer Smith, the high school SRO, and colleagues introduced themselves and recounted a recent lockdown that they said validated the district's lockdown and reunification procedures. "Keeping people and everybody inside the building safe" was the priority, Officer Smith said, describing why he placed a building on lockdown when details were limited.
District staff described technical and procedural measures in place. The district switched this year to a check-in platform it called Visitor Aware; staff explained the system is facial-recognition–capable and can cross-check identities against national registries including, the district said, FBI databases and offender registries. "So we feel like it's a little bit… it just gives some more safety," an administrator said.
Staff also described Safe to Help, an anonymous reporting platform operated through Boys Town that sends alerts to school staff and allows callers to reach a live responder. The district highlighted mobile alert apps for staff that can send 'assistance needed' or active-shooter signals and said it has run reunification trainings with first responders.
Trustees praised SRO presence and the new check-in system but raised operational concerns. Several trustees noted that parents sometimes fail to sign out when leaving a building, which complicates knowing who is on campus. Officer Smith said the check‑out problem persists in practice and recommended exploring additional measures to ensure accurate occupant counts.
District staff pledged to continue refining the visitor check-out process and to provide trustees with follow-up information about camera upgrades, the Visitor Aware implementation and the district’s protocols for handling Gaggle and other automated alerts.
The safety briefing closed with trustees commending officers for their student-focused approach and asking staff to return with cost and operational details if upgrades or new systems are recommended.
