Fond du Lac board reviews scaled security plans; high-school upgrade now estimated at about $4.8 million

The Fond du Lac School District Board of Education on Monday reviewed updated cost estimates and scope options for district security upgrades and discussed whether to include a security package in a proposed operational referendum.

Superintendent Steinbeth told the board the district obtained a recent quote from CD Smith that updated last year’s high-school security plan to “about $4.8” million. Staff said that figure applies to work at Fond du Lac High School and includes improved camera systems and construction for front and north entrances plus interior office renovations.

Board members and staff outlined three technology-focused options presented from the district-owned design: a comprehensive, integrated districtwide system (the highest-spec “Cadillac” plan with interior and exterior cameras and sensors), a midlevel option with exterior cameras at elementary schools and more interior coverage at secondary schools, and a low-cost exterior-only camera-and-cabling approach for elementary sites. One staff speaker described the largest single cost drivers as the number of cameras and the cabling required to connect them districtwide.

Paul Vermes, the district’s director of technology services, explained visitor-management and access systems currently in use, saying, “we currently use a company called Raptor,” and that the proposal considers whether to integrate visitor check-in, camera feeds and door access into one platform.

Staff emphasized the recent quotes cover technology (cameras, sensors, cabling) and do not include full entrance construction; any construction estimates would be developed separately. Superintendent Steinbeth proposed a scaled-down secure-entrance concept for the high school — smaller reception vestibules and fewer interior renovations — and committed to returning a construction estimate for that option.

The board discussed financing the work through an operational referendum. Staff said they believe the district could include roughly $4.0 million of security work in a referendum question and noted that security upgrades are primarily a one-time capital expense, while the district also faces a separate, ongoing structural operational deficit caused by declining enrollment. As Superintendent Steinbeth summarized, the two issues must be considered in parallel.

Board members asked staff to clarify how much of the districtwide design overlaps with the high-school build so the public can be told what $4.0 million would buy. Staff committed to pressing vendor partners (Excel and CD Smith) for updated estimates and visual plans, aiming to share that information before the board’s next meeting on the twelfth.

No formal action was taken on the security plan at the workshop; the only recorded vote was a 5–0 roll-call to adjourn the meeting at 05:59.

What’s next: staff will request updated cost breakdowns and visuals showing overlap between camera-system work and entrance construction and report back to the board at the next meeting so the board can finalize the referendum scope and public materials.