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District outlines multi-phase security upgrades: cameras, visitor check-in, alerts and device monitoring
Summary
Director of instructional technology detailed a multi-year plan to modernize surveillance cameras (migrating to a cloud-based Verkada system with 30-day retention), roll out visitor check-in kiosks (ID scan, Megan's Law checks), deploy digital ID/hall-pass features, and expand emergency notification speakers. Trustees pressed on power, costs and drill evaluation.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District presented a multi-phase security and safety technology plan that the district says will modernize cameras, visitor screening, emergency notifications and student-device monitoring across campuses.
Matt Stockton, the district's director of instructional technology, summarized the program's main elements: migration from an on-premise surveillance archive to a cloud-based Verkada system, command connectors to phase older cameras into the cloud, replacement or addition of dozens of cameras each year, visitor-management kiosks that scan state IDs and check flagged records, and an InformaCast emergency-notification rollout that integrates the county's standard response protocol. "We chose a company called Verkada," Stockton said, and the district can now "guarantee a 30-day retention period with all of our cameras," he added, describing an initial year where the district replaced or added about 65 cameras and a planned phase 2 of roughly 191 cameras.
Stockton emphasized that the technology only helps when staff are trained and available to act on alerts. On the visitor system, he described the kiosk flow: check-in, driver's-license scan (or manual entry), automated flag checks (including Megan's Law) and a printed temporary badge tied to an arrival and departure log. The digital ID and hall-pass tools (Minga) add check-in functions and hall-pass tracking. On device safety, Stockton said the district's student-device analysis tool flags content related to self-harm, suicide, violence, bullying or drug use and routes alerts to site admin and wellness teams for 24/7 review.
Trustees asked detailed implementation questions. When asked whether IP speakers and cameras continue to function during power loss, Stockton replied that the devices rely on building power and that server rooms and network switching require continuous power and cooling; he described backup power and generator options as expensive but under consideration. On drones, Stockton said he had not been made aware of a campus drone incident and would recommend law enforcement involvement if one was reported. Asked about overall program cost, Stockton estimated "a couple million dollars" depending on components and phased timelines.
Board members emphasized the need for drill debriefs and metrics to evaluate whether the technology reduces risk and improves response times. Stockton said the district pilots (including a pilot at Righetti High School and the district office) produced feedback used to refine configurations and training. The board was told some campuses (Mark Richardson Center, Delta High School) are already fully modernized while others (Pioneer Valley) have a smaller portion of new devices and will need larger wiring/installation efforts.
