CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Earnest Winston says the district will sever ties with the company that added a crisis alert system to 26 high schools.

• The system was expected allow teachers and staff members to sound an alarm in case of an emergency
• Last month, Winston gave CENTEGIX until Feb. 10 to fix the problems
• Other vendors have already contacted the district with products to increase safety

The district purchased the system from CENTEGIX. The company started installing the system at CMS schools in 2019 and it was currently testing it. 

The system was expected allow teachers and staff members to sound an alarm in case of an emergency by pressing a button on a badge. However, Winston says the system is unreliable.

“Problems began to surface in the spring of 2019, badges and beacons didn’t work properly, particularly in multi-story buildings,” Winston said Tuesday during a board meeting.

In addition, he said the tracking features of the system that intended to show administrators the location of a problem didn’t always work.

The total cost of the program was $1.7 million. Winston says the school paid the company $1.1 million, but it didn’t pay the remaining $600,000 when the issues surfaced last year.

Last month, Winston gave CENTEGIX until Feb. 10 to fix the problems.

The company sent Spectrum News a statement that mentioned the company had successfully completed quality assurance testing and that teacher training and deployment of the system would follow on Tuesday.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the CMS school district to deploy CrisisAlert and continuing to fulfill our mission of innovating technology to save and enrich lives,” said Matthew Stevens, CEO of CENTEGIX. 

Winston says the district will end its relationship with CENTEGIX and seek the company to reimburse the district the $1.1 million already paid.

“One of the risks of relying on a system that doesn’t work all the time is a false sense of security for our students and staff and that’s just not acceptable,” Winston said.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake understands the district didn’t have another choice but to drop the company. However, she wonders if it will be easy for the superintendent to obtain the reimbursement.

“My contention is when and how long will he give that company to provide those funds to the district or will their have to be a lawsuit? I hope there won’t have to be a lawsuit,” Leake said.

She also mentions she has concerns about school safety without this tool.  

“What will happen today, tomorrow or next week? So, we are praying all will be well, I hope that all will be well but we have to hold the school system accountable,” Leake said.

Winston says the system is just another layer of safety to the measures already in place.

“CENTEGIX technology was intended to add to the district’s overall’s school safety net, which includes screenings, dogs trained to detect guns and drugs, the lobby guard sign in system for visitors, surveillance cameras [and] social-emotional support for students,” Winston said.

He addd the district will continue searching for other security measures for high schools.

"We are open to advanced technology to protect our students but we don't want to be a testing ground for a vendor's product,” Winston said.

He says other vendors have already contacted the district with products to increase safety.

CENTEGIX released a statement to Spectrum News about the district's response:

"We are disappointed CMS leadership chose not to work with us and to ignore the successful completion of testing.  Our many requests for contact with leadership received no response. The lack of transparency and collaboration is unfair to vendors and appears to be politically motivated.  It does not advance the goal of enhancing student safety.  The decision by CMS leadership is inconsistent with over 1800 documented successful tests and 50 live alerts that have been presented and demonstrated to district personnel. This unfortunate decision is a significant step backward for the district and its ability to ensure the safety and security of its students and families."