Security cameras similar to this one in the Ooltewah Elementary School office are being installed in 64 Hamilton County schools.BY THE NUMBERS
64 of Hamilton County's 76 schools need cameras 12 have adequate cameras 19 have old cameras that need upgrading 45 have no cameras Source: Hamilton County Department of Education
Work is underway to install security cameras at 64 Hamilton County public schools, now that an intergovernmental impasse that stalled the project is resolved.
Crews have begun doing "walk-throughs" at the schools to figure out the best places to put the cameras, said Assistant Superintendent Lee McDade. Installation should begin soon, he said, and officials hope to wrap up work within 10 to 12 months.
The project was announced in November. But it stalled after county commissioners voted in February to pay for the cameras with $2.1 million from the 2013 sale of the old Ooltewah Elementary School, upon condition: Commissioners wanted proceeds from the future sale of East Brainerd Elementary School split evenly between their nine districts, which mirror the county's school board districts.
The school board balked at the commission's attempt to earmark the proceeds. It voted in March to ask commissioners to fund the security cameras with no conditions.
Commissioners have not taken up that request, although School Superintendent Rick Smith said Thursday that the commission "agreed to move forward with the cameras and not tie the future sale of East Brainerd to this project."
The installation started with an April 14 kick-off meeting, school officials said, after the school district got the go-ahead from the County Commission.
The school district has contracted with Central Technologies Inc., of Knoxville, to install Avigilon-brand cameras. Crews from Central Technologies, the school district and the county will do the work.
"We've got three different teams installing them," said Patty Kinsey, who heads the school district's information technology department. "We couldn't afford for them [Central Technologies] to do all of it."
The surveillance cameras will be positioned in hallways, cafeterias and outside schools to capture images of entrances and parking lots.
"They are working with each principal at every building to make sure [the cameras] cover areas where they know they have problems," Kinsey said.
Adequate security camera systems already are in place at 12 schools, school officials say, so the new cameras at 64 schools will get all 76 schools up-to-date.
Security cameras also will be installed at all other school district campuses, Smith said, including the auxiliary services facility on Dodds Avenue, which houses the school nutrition, transportation and maintenance departments.
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