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Security cameras in the works for all Hamilton County public schools

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By Tim Omarzu 4 min read

BY THE NUMBERS64: Number of Hamilton County’s 76 schools that need cameras12: Have adequate cameras19: Have old cameras that need upgrading45: Have no camerasSource: Hamilton County Department of Education

Fights aren’t common at Ooltewah Elementary School, but if one occurs, chances are that Principal Thomas Arnold can see who started it by reviewing footage from one of the school’s security cameras.

“I could pull it up to see who was the instigator,” Arnold said.

From his desktop or tablet computer, Arnold can see old footage or watch live feeds from the state-of-the-art surveillance cameras installed at the 1,100-student elementary school that opened two years ago.

Now the Hamilton County Department of Education wants to spend $1.9 million from the $2.2 million it earned last year from the sale of the old Ooltewah Elementary School property so that all 76 of its schools have up-to-date security cameras.