Surprisingly, Shits given by dog = 0

@Andrew: I am not a sales or marketing guy. I design and build the software. From a data standpoint, you are very close(within 100) of the student count. most schools get 5-8 stations that process 48 students/minute each at max load, running concurrently. The morning run averages 45 minutes. The stations have their own battery power systems in case of power drops. Generally if the school has no power at all they cancel classes. The biometric option is not the only option. Students can be entered by name, ID card, RF key FOB, or finger. Two fingers are enrolled in case they hurt one, and can pull up a student record in 1 second. The biometric was created for the lunch scanning. Since the module loads as part of the collector object, it can be use in all modes. The primary gain is not in staffing costs. The gain has been proven on decreased class cutting(60-80%) and increased attendance(up to 10%). So, in a nutshell; the teachers get more time to teach, students are more likely to be in class, and the admin staff can respond to students having problems in a more timely way.

The system also can track teachers, they get a short range (2-3 inch) RF Key FOB. It has a visitor module that can(not mandatory) scan most IDs. This is my part time job, and pays very little. I do it because unfortunately I've seen some of the bad things that can happen in schools. Now, thanks to Neatorama and SlashDot, I'm Big Brother.

@Adrienne: I think there would have been a lot less misunderstanding if the principals had been contacted before posting something that would cause people to get freaked out. We're out here and I love to explain the tech that I produce as long as I'm not being attacked with un-informed "What If" scenarios.

Not my numbers. Attributed to the Principal of Milford Mill Academy (Baltimore County, MD)

@Adriennne: we've shown an 80% drop in class cutting and 10% attendance increase in Baltimore. I'd call that significant.

@alex, when dups happen we have all the kids register another finger. Wow, yeah, you got in my head because everyone knows that I'm just a money, money, money guy. The finger scanner was developed for lunch scanning, so that if a kid forgot their card, they could still get lunch. But, hey, I'm a corporate greedy guy, Not human at all. I am completely responsible for what other people do with my technology. Thanks for trying to make me feel bad about what I do.

Here's the thing that really bothers me about this story. None of the people involved have been contacted. It's based on two short news clips. This is standard blogging; this is not news, it's internet gossip. Oh, and dj_nme, just try that crap at one of my schools, and your parents (if they care) would come down on you just like mine did when I tried to skip.

Actually Nick, you're completely wrong. In samples of over 8K, you are almost guaranteed to get duplicates. I've see duplicates in less than 500 samples. At this point I've decided that you aren't worth responding to. You seem to just want a conspiracy and feel the need to be afraid of "The Man". At this point you've just become sad.

@Adrienne, you'd be able to text her, but she wouldn't be able to text back.

Nick, it's not 22k per scanner, it's 22k for the entire district(8 schools). Includes all the hardware, software, support, maintenance and training. If the student doesn't use the scanner, the school admin staff are notified. Parents can get calls or texts if they want to know. The reason for all this is because a lot of students can't be trusted to go to school and some of their parents can't be bothered. As far as calling the school, I've had to do it myself for a family emergency. I'm pretty sure you don't have kids because you think you'd be able to text them at school. That's been banned for years.

Miss C., unfortunately as the school enrollment goes up, school staff does not. The system cuts down on the time staff is dealing with attendance and discipline. Most of the schools that use it have 3000-4000 students.

The student scans their finger or swipes their card when entering the building, their name and photo appear on the screen. If they have any outstanding alerts(class cuts, suspension) an alarm sounds and the list of infractions prints at the local printer. The station has a staff member to monitoring the process. For each class, the teacher opens a web page showing the student list and their current status. If someone isn't there and should be the teacher clicks on the record. If you skip scanning in and your first couple classes, you will be caught the first time you go to a class. If you just don't go to any class, you will be marked as absent. Students also have to swipe out of the building in the main office if they leave school early.

It's a school, they're supposed to know where the kids are. Can you imagine calling the school and having them NOT know where your kid is?

Nick, I was against the fingerprint option. After learning about the technology, I discovered that it's more innocuous than I thought. The data can't be reversed to get a print and is more like asymmetric cryptography. It is encrypted for storage. The kids need to have some id for the school and either have to scan their finger or swipe their id card. If you don't want your kids to use the option, that's your decision. It is not being forced on anyone.