Texas requires public school districts to install silent panic-alert technology in classrooms, but how Fort Worth ISD will pay for a five-year system remains unsettled. The Board of Managers approved a multimillion-dollar contract for Centegix technology at every campus, with two managers, Jay Stegall and Laurie George, voting against it and six voting in favor. Pete Geren recused himself and left the room before the vote.
A Free First Year, an Uncertain Second
The first contract year will equip every Fort Worth ISD campus with security technology, including staff badges, school safety blueprints and campus visitor management tools, according to the Fort Worth Report. A $1 million donation from the Sid W. Richardson Foundation covers that year. The contract costs $1.8 million in its second year, and the Board of Managers must consider renewal annually. Chief of Staff Louis Kushner told the board the district is not paying for the first year; funding after that remains uncertain.
Kushner said philanthropic funding is intended to cover all five contract years and that district administrators had approached Fort Worth philanthropic and business leaders to seek it, the Fort Worth Report reported. No commitment for years two through five has been secured. Stegall asked Superintendent Peter Licata how the district would fund the contract over the next three to four years, but no firm financial plan was presented.
Why Geren Stepped Out
Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, the Fort Worth philanthropic organization with more than $500 million in total assets that is funding the contract's first year, according to a Wikipedia entry on the foundation. Geren was appointed to FWISD's state-installed Board of Managers in March, the body now overseeing the district's finances after the Texas Education Agency suspended the elected school board's authority. Given his dual role atop the foundation funding the contract and on the board approving it, Geren recused himself from the vote and exited the meeting room while it was underway.
A Mandate FWISD Cannot Skip
The panic-button push is not optional. Under Texas Senate Bill 838, known as Alyssa's Law, all public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools statewide must equip every classroom with silent panic alert technology starting in the 2025-2026 school year, according to the Texas School Safety Center. The law traces back to the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a former student shot and killed 17 students and staff members. Separately, Texas House Bill 3 and House Bill 2 also require an armed officer at every campus and doubled the state's School Safety Allotment to help districts absorb security costs, per IntelliSee.
State safety funding has competing demands
FWISD’s projected state funding for the separate armed-officer requirement was $2.7 million, compared with an estimated $8.3 million in additional officer costs, according to the Fort Worth Report. Those figures concern officers, not the Centegix contract. The Texas School Safety Center says districts may use School Safety Allotment funds to comply with SB 838, and IntelliSee lists silent panic-alert technology as an eligible safety measure.
The Centegix CrisisAlert badges are staff badges for the district's security system. When a teacher presses the badge's button three times, the school's front office is notified and can see who needs help, their location, and what kind of assistance is required. Pressing the badge eight times, such as if an armed person is seen climbing a fence, initiates a building lockdown; police will show up after an eight-press alert.
Neighboring Districts Already Made the Switch
Fort Worth ISD is turning to Centegix for wearable panic buttons. Superintendent Peter Licata said he is familiar with Centegix's security model from his prior post as superintendent of Broward County Schools, a role he held for 10 months starting in 2023. Licata said he would rework Fort Worth ISD's safety budget to keep Centegix in schools, though he did not lay out specifics on where those funds would come from long-term.
Board Members Warn Against Blank Checks
Board member Tennessee Walker, who voted for the security upgrade, said the district does not have to reengage the contract without next-year backing or budget funds already secured. FWISD board members retain final say over the contract's future in each renewal year. That built-in checkpoint is the safeguard managers like Walker are counting on if the philanthropic pipeline dries up before all five years are funded.
A District Already Stretched Thin
Fort Worth ISD faces a nearly $50 million shortfall. The district's budget gap could grow further because of frozen appraisals and a flat property tax rate, according to KERA News.
The district has also poured tens of millions of dollars into Licata's new instructional model amid a projected financial shortfall.
The state takeover of the district and installation of the Board of Managers have put decisions about how, and whether, to keep paying for the new security system in the hands of the state-appointed managers.
