For eighteen years, students have walked the halls under the watchful eyes of security cameras, first installed at the start of the 2004-2005 school year. Over the years, the camera systems have seen numerous improvements, but none as significant as the new model currently being installed.
Over Thanksgiving Break, security cameras were installed in the high school, replacing many old ones. The overall cost of these cameras was $125,853.15. The cost of the cameras was paid from two funds: $61,112.44 paid through a general obligation bond the school received in 2022, and
$64,740.71 was paid through the school’s Operations Fund. Although this was an expensive decision, according to Principal Ed Wagner, the old cameras needed to be replaced.
“Our old cameras were outdated. When something would break on them, we couldn’t even get upgrades. Half of all the cameras in the school right now are off three minutes from the others. So, if we were trying to track something that had occurred in the school building, we had to make up for the three minutes. Instead of hitting a button and tracking something, we’d have to go all the way back another three minutes, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but you may be looking at 10 or 11 cameras. It takes a long time, and so they just weren’t very good,” said Wagner.
The old cameras also had problems with quality.
“The video quality wasn’t very good at night. You couldn’t see the outside cameras very well either. So it was just old technology and over the years, people who had been in this spot before just didn’t take care of them well. They got what they needed at the time, but it was just basically a band-aid,” said Wagner.
The functions of the new cameras are a significant upgrade from the old ones.
“The new ones each have their own brain. They each have their own computer chip. They’re much more expensive than the old ones, and now, every
time that you come into this building or a camera hits your face, it stores your image,” said Wagner.
The facial recognition features used in the new cameras can be used to focus on an individual’s activities in the building.
“I can click the button for your profile, and every camera will find you automatically and it’ll play back just you and what you did that day. And I know it’s creepy, but I can follow you around all day long. And I know when you went to the bathroom, I can tell you when you went to lunch, I can tell you when you went to PE, I can tell you when you went to your girlfriend’s locker,” said Wagner.
While the cameras may seem prepared for disciplinary reasons, these cameras are almost entirely for safety concerns.
“Some people don’t understand why we have cameras and think we’re trying to get you or catch somebody doing something stupid. That’s not the point. The point is, for these cameras, it’s about safety. God forbid anything ever happens to our school with regards to school violence and things of that nature, but if needed, the camera feed will be directly sent to dispatch and the sheriff’s department. So if we ever had an emergency, they can click a button and have access to our computer and access to all of our cameras. So if we ever have something really bad happen, they can click on and keep tabs on the whereabouts of all of the people inside and outside of the building,” said Wagner.
Installation of the cameras is scheduled to be completed by the end of the semester.
