May 2007 — News
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Biometrics in K-12: Vendor Claims and Your Business Plan
No system is without errors, and no system is 100 percent fool-proof. Every school must weigh the cost of biometrics and alternatives versus benefits from each. The key word in speeding up any process is automation. A technology system with good networked or stand-alone software that eliminates or reduces the paper trail or the need to handle cash on every transaction will certainly speed up the cafeteria line or attendance taking process, for example. Non-biometrics can secure access, as well. To test some of those vendor claims and to see what some schools are doing, I spoke with key personnel in two districts in Ohio (personal communications, March 29, 2007).
Sixteen-year veteran Manager of Food Services for Mansfield City Schools, a mid-sized urban district of over 5000 students, said the district began using software and a card reader system several years ago to monitor its lunch program. As others have found; students forgot or lost cards; the cards deteriorated over time; barcodes on cards became unreliable; and sometimes information on the card was incorrect. The district had been approached about implementing fingerprint readers but opted out because of the added expense. The district now successfully uses PINs and point of sale software, Café Enterprise, at six of its schools.
The schools have 11 computer systems for the cafeterias, each equipped with a touch-screen monitor to help the cashier speed up data entry and access and a PIN pad where students enter their five-digit PIN number after they select their food. Students tend to remember the number because it is the same ID number they use for other student services, such as the library and computer access. Even when they forget, the cashier can use the keyboard to access their name in the system. The lunch lines do move more quickly than in the past because the cashier no longer needs to look up the name of a student on a printed list to determine who is eligible for free or reduced lunch prices. The software also helps protect anonymity of those same students because it accommodates any students who have prepaid debit accounts for lunch or other things they can buy at school. When students enter their PIN, their picture comes up so that the cashier can verify the account, adding that level of security.
If you do opt to use biometrics, be prepared to have an alternative non-biometric security system available. Bucyrus City Schools does just that in their food service program, which uses LunchBox software to accommodate about 1,000 students at their high school and middle school. They use Indentifi fingerprint readers from IdentiMetrics to complement their PIN pad system. The district's general manager of food services stated that the PIN system was working for them, but at least one administrator believed a fingerprinting system would enable them to have one less cashier by eliminating the use of cash and might move along lunch lines even faster than with PINs. They opted for both when parents objected to taking fingerprints for religious reasons, and some just did not want any fingerprint data stored. High school students wanted to pay for their lunch in cash. Some were concerned that the information might eventually be used by police.
