School board members in Arkansas City have approved a contract for a new door-locking system that will allow for automatic lock-down at all district schools when an emergency arises, spokesperson Alisha Call said.
The contract with Alexandar Open Systems caps spending at $297,262 ? but school officials expect the actual cost to be less than that. Roughly $375,000 was budgeted for the locking system as part of the district’s most recent bond issue.
In addition to automatic lock-down, the new system provides key-card entry for staff members and visual security at school entrances.
