Lawsuit: CMS wants money back from company that created 'faulty’ security system

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has filed a lawsuit to get its money back after claiming a company built the district a ‘faulty’ security system last year.

According to the lawsuit, CMS is suing Centegix “to recoup funds for a faulty, inoperable crisis alert and management system Defendant was obligated to provide under its bid agreement with Plaintiff.”

The crisis alert system announced at the beginning of the school year was a major, innovative security upgrade installed in all comprehensive high schools.

It’s designed around an alert that is triggered using a panic card that trained staff members have.

The system is supposed to then send out school-wide alerts and light up the button in different colors depending on the type of emergency, whether it be medical, weather or a safety threat.

The district ditched the security system in February after saying it didn’t work. Superintendent Earnest Winston gave Centegix 30 days to fix it, which he said didn’t happened.

It was inconsistent and sometimes didn’t work at all, according to Winston. The problems reportedly started in Spring 2019 when badges and beacons did not work properly. The district said the system’s tracking features, which were supposed to show administrators where a problem was occurring also failed to work.

According to the lawsuit, Centegix failed to deliver on its promises.

Centegix said the district’s claims are false and that they successfully completed testing of the system in 26 CMS high schools.

The total cost of the program was $1.7 million. The school district has already paid $1.1 million of that, which it now wants back.

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