From the stone age to cutting edge: A case study on key management

When Allen Moore, Director of Security for Mesa Public Schools (MPS) in Arizona, was alerted that the state’s auditor general’s office was coming to visit, he wasn’t sure what to think. It was the first time in his 16 years with the district they had announced they’d be stopping by. “It felt like the IRS was coming,” Moore said. But his apprehension was put to rest after he began to show them all of the different layers of security they implemented. They were impressed about MPS’ solution for comprehensive key management Moore had expressed should be used in other districts throughout the state in the hopes it had the same impact on their schools as it had for MPS.

“We were in the stone age.” That’s how Moore describes MPS’ key management methods before they installed intelligent key cabinets in nearly every building throughout their district. Accessing keys back then was cumbersome — users had to insert a key into the box, which opened a keypad that required a code, which opened another door to put a key into the box to access the array of keys. Not only was this process time-consuming, but it was also inefficient. When keys went missing, there’d be no audit trail of who had which key or when, which significantly impacted monitoring them. District officials would try to review camera footage to see who had checked out a key, but that wasn’t always an effective solution.

Moreover, when an employee was terminated, resigned or retired, administrators had to manually go into each box and change the access system or re-key it. The re-keying sometimes happened after a period, which meant the former employee still had access to those boxes. The same security risk extended for vendors who had access to certain parts of a building, which is extensive, considering MPS includes more than 90 sites in a district that serves more than 55,000 students every year: the largest in Arizona.

The turning point for MPS came from local government and taxpayer support. Two bonds have passed to allocate additional funding for security technology improvement within the local schools. The first bond passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. MPS wasn’t ready to change its key management system at that time. However, when the second bond passed several years ago, MPS was in a position to change how it monitored keys, and it took advantage of all the bond had to offer.

Mesa Public Schools first implemented an intelligent key cabinet in the administration office to test it and ensure it was working as intended. Soon, nearly every building within the district had one. The process for accessing keys was improved dramatically — users now simply swipe their access badge, and the door opens to the secured keys.

Moore and his team can remotely assign access to specific keys, significantly reducing the likelihood of a user taking an unauthorized key. That means multiple users can utilize the same cabinet, further consolidating operations. The system also notes who has which key and when representing a clear audit trail that Moore can manage and even produce if required by the district or state. Also, when an employee or vendor leaves or is terminated, Moore can immediately deactivate that user from the system, which again cuts down on the security risk for access to sensitive keys.

Implementing the key cabinets impacts operations not only inside the buildings but outside as well. Mesa Public Schools has upgraded how they grant access to local first responders in the event of an emergency. The string of critical incidents at schools nationwide has underscored the importance of responders needing instant, yet secured, access to a school. Moore and his team simplified their operations through the external Knox Box so that police and fire departments could now open the box and grab a key fob, which then grants them access to keys within the cabinet in the lobby of that building. When MPS schools are in lockdown, this is the only way for first responders to access the building, and it simplifies a process where improved response times could be lifesaving in an emergency. 

When Moore compares where Mesa’s key management processes were before installing the intelligent key cabinets to where they are now, he says it’s a night and day difference. 

“For accountability and security of the keys, there’s no other way to do it,” he said. “The way we were doing it versus now — I can’t believe it took us that long.” 

Moore is frequently asked by other school districts about how MPS approached the transition to intelligent cabinets, and he’s quick to point out the support from the bond noted above. It took support from the community to make the wholesale changes, and he notes that there are ongoing measures, both statewide and at the federal level, to allocate funding and resources for schools to make similar upgrades to their systems. 

That brings us back to that visit from the state auditor general’s office. Moore said he was proud after they came through because they asked to see the key cabinet system in use during lockdowns and its different applications. They saw what Allen and many other school systems across the country are realizing every day — intelligent key cabinets can profoundly impact improving daily operations and monitoring system-wide key usage. Still, they can be crucial in collaborating with local first responders responding to emergency security threats. As such, schools need to reach out to their local, state and federal legislators to consider support for such technological advancements that can go a long way in ensuring the safety of their staff and students while addressing constantly evolving security threats.