Missouri High School Adds More Than 100 Surveillance Cameras
When students at Grandview High School returned to campus last week, there were almost 140 new surveillance cameras on site as part of efforts to increase student safety.
- By Jessica Davis
- January 07, 2019
When students at Grandview High School returned to campus last week, there were almost 140 new surveillance cameras on site as part of efforts to increase student safety.
New surveillance cameras have been installed both inside and outside of school buildings, covering territory including the football stadium, field house and parking lots. The new equipment includes motion detection sensors, and the cameras can learn to identify individuals by their shape and clothing.
Before the surveillance system update, some of the school’s cameras were more than 15 years old. According to the school resource officer, the image quality with the old cameras made it difficult to identify clothing, let alone faces.
All of the buses in the school district have also received new digital cameras. In addition to the cameras, the school’s main entrance is being reworked as a double passageway system, requiring visitors to be buzzed in twice to enter the school building.
The security upgrades cost about $500,000, funded by a bond issue voters approved in 2016. The district’s middle school received similar security upgrades during the winter break, and the elementary schools will receive safety upgrades in the future.
Superintendent Kenny Rodrequez said the district tries to walk the line between making students feel safe but also welcome on campuses.
"I don’t want kids to come into school and feel like they are coming into a prison," Rodrequez told Fox4 News. "So we kind of balance that whole safety, but also welcoming environment. I want kids to really like coming to school. When they walk in I want them to enjoy coming in and not feel like, 'Oh my God, something bad is about to happen because I have do this and I have to go through this.'"
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.