School district plans for security upgrades

Published 3:30 am Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Initial steps are slated to begin this summer for the safety and security components of Sequim School District’s $146 million, 20-year construction bond approved by voters in February 2025.

Sequim School Board directors unanimously agreed on May 18 to a resolution that will adopt Verkada Corporation’s equipment as its standard for future security and access control systems at school facilities.

Mike Santos, Sequim School District’s director of facilities, operations and security, said he anticipates going out to bid within a month for a new security system at Sequim Middle School with installation this summer.

Installation will be followed by Greywolf Elementary and Olympic Peninsula Academy at dates to be determined.

Santos said they will all be advertised and competitively bid separately, and the safety and security project for the three schools will be completed by the end of 2027.

New buildings for Helen Haller Elementary and Sequim High School would receive new security systems as part of their construction process under the bond.

The district previously purchased about $150,000 worth of Verkada equipment through its Capital Projects Levy for Sequim’s schools approved in February 2021.

Santos said the middle school’s cameras will be replaced from 1996 while adding a new complete integrated ecosystem of Verkada hardware and user interface platforms.

The ecosystem would include new cameras with AI-enabled intrusion detection, a secure entrance intercom with sharp video and clear audio, a built-in door reader, and access control that can manage specific access points from anywhere while issuing temporary credentials to non-staff facility users.

Santos did not have a cost estimate available for the project when asked by the Gazette last week.

The district’s recent resolution states that the district will “procure replacement of the security and access control systems at each school facility over time as funding and other logistical considerations allow.”

It continues that “an integrated, centralized security-management and access control system (SOC) is a hardware and software-based system installed within and affixed to buildings to identify threats and control/monitor access to district properties.”

Santos told school board directors on May 18 that the middle school’s system will include a visitor screening management system and cameras will have face recognition. Visitors must use the new intercom to have their identity verified before being buzzed in. Then they must have their ID verified before being given a visitor’s badge.

According to the district’s resolution, multiple, separate platforms between the schools might provide a more desired functionality, but it would cost more, be more complex, and they don’t allow for self-service of security and access control systems.

Staff also wrote in the resolution that the security systems would be open-source and open-architecture to allow district staff and law enforcement to service, control, adjust, and diagnose devices from a cell phone or tablet.

Santos told board directors that staff would be able to make repairs, and that existing security infrastructure not being replaced can be tied into the new system as well.

This summer, the middle school will also be rekeyed, and the perimeter will have both hard keys and electronic key codes for staff.

Previously, district staff spoke about installing vestibules, transitional rooms between the outside and the office at existing schools during the informational sessions about the bond. Santos said he had no statement about them at this time.

He told board directors that middle school staff will be trained on the new system in the fall, and the school could be used as training for other school staff to see how it looks and feels.

Along with safety and security upgrades, the middle school is scheduled to have its roof replaced this summer with several other projects scheduled for each school. Some construction contracts for summer projects will be up for approval at the June 15 Sequim School Board meeting.

Other elements of the $146 million bond include plans to:

• Add a cafeteria at Greywolf Elementary School, and update its bus loop, parking lot, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)

• Upgrade the district’s athletic field and stadium facilities with track expansion, improved bleachers, bathrooms, and more

• Improve or replace the district’s Transportation Center

• Create a new bus loop through the school district’s main campus

For more information on Sequim School District, visit sequimschools.org.

Note: Matthew Nash has family employed/enrolled in Sequim School District.