Merced City trustees approve five‑year Syntegix safety platform over push for a pilot, 3–2

Merced City School District trustees voted 3–2 on Feb. 10 to approve a five‑year contract to deploy the Syntegix wearable safety badge and integrated incident‑management platform districtwide, approving the proposal after hours of questions about costs, pilot testing and staff buy‑in.

Deputy Superintendent Francisco Romo and Executive Officer of Human Resources Tamara Ferreiro presented the plan to the board, saying the investment would provide a districtwide, 24/7 wearable device that staff could use to summon help and that the platform can integrate with cameras, PA systems and local law enforcement alerting. Romo told trustees the district would use braided funding from ELOP, Measure M and the general fund and described a five‑year investment “approximately $1,300,000.” He said Year 1 implementation and setup would be in the presentation figures and that ongoing annual costs for years 2–5 would be lower.

Ferreiro…