A group of parents in the Encinitas Union School District is criticizing a recent software purchase by the school board that they feel is expensive and possibly unsafe.
The district is in the early stages of its virtual key ring project, using facial recognition technology on iPads to automatically log students into multiple programs at once.
The objective was to save time logging into learning programs and allow more time for learning.
Parent Leslie Schneider believes the software is expensive and unnecessary.
“My question has been, why are we spending this money when we have a lot of holes in our budget,” Schneider said. “When you go to the school/parent community and you say to them we will not have a science program if you don't reach into your pocket and fund the instructor.”
NBC 7 attempted to contact Superintendent Tim Baird concerning the software. He wasn't available to speak so we were directed to the district’s website where the district has posted a notice for parents concerning the virtual key ring software.
"Facial recognition would be an optional feature that parents could opt into in lieu of a password," the statement reads. "Parents will have an option to indicate their preference at the time of implementation if the project makes it through the pilot phase."
Some parents told NBC 7 they emailed the district for answers about the program a month ago and have received no response.
