Pixley Union School District

Prior to 2021, the Pixley Union School District (USD) used mechanical keys for access throughout its schools and administration building. District Director of Maintenance and Operations Joel Munoz said that district leadership wanted to improve campus security by reducing the risk, time, and cost associated with replacing lost mechanical keys, and put infrastructure in place for the district to incorporate immediate lockdown capability in the future. Working with Bryan Quesinberry of S3 Reps, Munoz and his team selected Salto hardware and software products to provide electronic access solutions for Pixley USD. 

Salto’s smart technology provides Pixley Union School District with centralized control and local flexibility allowing school administrators to simplify access management using just a single platform.  

Pixley has deployed Salto XS4 Original+ electronic locking solutions on doors at building entrances and exits, office spaces, and classrooms, supported by Salto BLUEnet Gateways providing a direct and secured connectivity to Salto BLUEnet wireless network. The Salto gateway links PCs to the wireless network to collect access points data and extend Salto SVN capabilities interoperability with Salto smart locking devices with more Salto SVN credentials update points capacity with Salto SVN-Flex technology. 

Munoz and the team use the Salto ProAccess Space Management Software to manage the system which includes over 70 access points and 150 users across two schools and an administration building. Thanks to ProAccess Space now they can manage all workflows, access or processes from a single location and easily consult the audit trail or monitroize any access point from any operator terminal in real-time.  

One of the primary reasons Pixley USD chose an electronic access control solution was to eliminate the risk associated with lost keys. Munoz said they have previously dealt with the aftermath of losing a master key which resulted in replacing every lock in an elementary school building! He said they continue to discover added benefits from the Salto electronic access solution including the ability to host after school childcare and activities outside of school hours. Since they can now provide limited and temporary access, they can be sure that only those people who have been authorized are in the building during these events. The electronic access system has also enhanced their yard duty supervision program by cutting the need to provide master keys. Previously, there was no way to ensure that individuals were only accessing authorized areas and not entering restricted spaces like teacher classrooms. 

Munoz added they appreciate that the Salto solution can be implemented gradually, which was a key selling point. He said they also like that Salto offers the best hybrid solution.  
 
“Salto functions efficiently as a standalone system. The network capabilities have been great as we bring more locks online using the BLUEnet gateways and nodes,” Munoz said. 

For the future, as they continue to increase coverage across their campus buildings, Munoz said they will add immediate lockdown capability as well as integrations with video surveillance and fire alarms so that access can be linked to these important security functions.