Batavia Public Schools Ramping Up Access Control and Video Surveillance

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 06/09/09

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Batavia Public Schools District No. 101 in Illinois has closed bidding on an access control/surveillance system to cover its eight schools and district headquarters. According to local newspaper The Beacon News, 17 companies have bid on the project, which will be exploiting the bandwidth available from a district data communications network upgrade from 1 gigabit fiber to 10 gigabit fiber.

The request for proposal outlined an access control system that includes options for electronic entry-control devices such as programmed wireless fobs or proximity cards. The new system will replace traditional door locks with electronic locks that are tied into the district network. The arrival and departure of each staff member will be recorded by use of the individual's personal access code.

The RFP also described a surveillance system running about 300 high definition Internet protocol cameras with motion detection functionality on some of them. The camera feeds would be maintained by a central software application, which would also be accessible by local public safety agencies. Currently, only the high school has a small video surveillance system, located in its cafeteria.

The installation is expected to be done before the end of 2009. Funding for the security additions are coming from a $75 million bond referendum passed by voters in 2007.