Manatee schools can now show live video inside a school to first responders
The school district is the first in the state to launch the integrated technology that uses existing surveillance cameras and links them to police and EMS.
WUSF | By: Kerry Sheridan | October 6, 2026
A new security system in Manatee County schools allows first responders to see real-time video as an emergency is underway, officials said.
It’s a two-part system, using existing surveillance cameras and a technology called OpenEye that gets triggered when a teacher or staff member presses a button on a badge they carry.
Then, the school principal or security team can activate a live video feed for the four nearest cameras. Those images are fed to local police and emergency responders.
Worst-case scenarios include “if it is an evacuation, if it is a shelter in place or a lockdown where there’s a potential active shooter,” said Scott Hansen, chief technology officer for the School District of Manatee County.
These events “trigger into the real-time intelligence center with the sheriff’s department,” Hansen said.
“They’re going to have eyes on it, and then they will have responding officers at that point that would be coming to our school,” he said.
The system is launched when someone presses an alert button on their badge.
Other scenarios could be a medical emergency, if someone collapses of a heart attack in the hallway, or if a fight breaks out.
In these cases, if a staff member presses their security button, the system activates the nearest four cameras. The school security team or principal can activate the video feed to first responders. It also sends geospatial coordinates so rescue teams can plan their arrival.
The idea is “to really put our responders in a better position to respond when there’s an event at one of our school campuses,” said Hansen.
By law, all schools must have crisis alert systems, and security cameras. But most cannot stream live to outside agencies.
A staff member at Manatee County Schools looks at a video feed from a camera on a computer monitor.
As to privacy concerns, “it’s only active when a district employee requests help,” said Brent Cobb, CEO of the security company Centegix. “And then the second the administrators, the responders close that alert, it’s taken down.”
Manatee County schools say they’ve already had to use it in medical emergencies.
“The situational awareness makes it even easier for the people responding to know and to get there. Because every second matters,” said Cobb.
The technology is part of a five-year contract with Centegix, which makes wearable panic buttons, and OpenEye, which focuses on cloud video platforms.
It costs the Manatee School district $831,000 a year, according to a district spokeswoman ($345,000 for Centegix and $486,000 for OpenEye).
Hansen said 62 sites in Manatee County Schools opened the 2026-27 school year with the technology.
