A number of new security cameras have been installed throughout the high school in recent months, creating curiosity among students as to their function and what prompted the addition of more cameras. To answer these questions, Watauga County Schools Director of Technology Dr. Alison Schleede sat down to discuss the purpose of these new additions to the high school’s system.
“We have over 80 cameras.” said Dr. Schleede, “Most of them were put in when the school was built, around 2010.”
Schleede explained that these cameras were analog, an older system which produced poor quality footage, preventing administration from properly using security footage to analyze incidents which required oversight. Also complicating the issue, the cameras throughout the school ran on three separate systems, which saved footage to different systems, including very outdated DVRs. This mix of factors led the school to install new camera systems to streamline security.
“We’re not doing it to say we’re watching you,” Schleede said. “We’re doing it for security reasons, and just to make sure our kids are safe and if something were to happen, we can go back and look at it.”
Contrary to rumors spread at the time of their installation, the new cameras do not pick up audio, and students cannot get in trouble for what they say while near the cameras.
“A lot of students were concerned that if they said under the cameras they would get in trouble, but they don’t do that,” said Schleede.
The new cameras were originally intended to be installed while school was out to avoid interruptions; however, a number of roadblocks prevented the project from taking place until recently.
“We had hoped to do it earlier but because of supply chain issues and trying to make sure that we knew exactly what we wanted,” said Schleede. “Typically we don’t do it during the school year because there are so many people around and it's hard to get up on a ladder when class changes are happening.”
Schleede also revealed that funding for the cameras, another concern for students, was allocated by the county commissioners.
“Every year we asked the county commissioners for X amount of dollars, usually for chromebooks. Those are all allocated by county funds. The county also has cameras and stuff we do with the phone system, so we get so much money from the commissioners,” Schleede said. “Overall, we’re trying to have cameras that are functional, and that will give us information if we need it, but it's primarily for student safety, which is why we only added cameras in places that needed coverage.”
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