EDMONDS — The Edmonds School District hopes to install security cameras in all its schools during the 2015-16 school year.
In doing so, the district will join others throughout the county beefing up security, including Everett, Marysville, Monroe, and Mukilteo.
Some Edmonds schools already have exterior security cameras, among them Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds Woodway high schools and Meadowdale Middle School.
Now the school district plans to install a new Web-based system, inside and outside schools and administration buildings.
“This is not just bringing cameras to the campus, but to all our facilities,” said Stewart Mhyre, the school district’s executive director for business and operations.
A new policy, adopted in March by the Edmonds School Board, calls for cameras to be installed in public areas such as parking lots, entrances, exits, hallways, gymnasiums, cafeterias and libraries. Signs will be posted alerting passersby that they might be video recorded.
The images collected by the cameras could be used in cases of student and employee disciplinary action. A student’s parents can view video involved in disciplinary proceedings at the student’s school, but requests must be made within 30 days of the event. State law only requires video to be retained for 30 days, school district spokeswoman DJ Jakala* said.
Under state public records law, anyone may request copies of a video, again within 30 days of an event. Requests can be made online, as with any request for a school district document, Jakala said.
The decision to install a districtwide system of surveillance cameras was made “to help increase the safety of students, staff and visitors,” Mhyre said.
Mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and at Marysville Pilchuck High School last October brought the issue of school security to the forefront of people’s concerns, he said.
However, video from school cameras most commonly is used in dealing with student discipline, Mhyre said.
The school district already has security cameras in many of its 147 buses. Over the past two years, there have been three requests for copies of video for incidents that occurred on buses, Jakela said.
Money for the surveillance and security program is part of a $275 million construction bond approved by voters last year. Some $40 million was earmarked for better security and building improvements. There’s no estimate yet for the cost of the security improvements, Jakala said.
One of the first places the new surveillance system will be installed is in the district’s new main operations facility on 52nd Avenue in Lynnwood, Mhyre said. Construction is scheduled to begin by June.
As part of the security improvements, the school district plans to add key card systems at building entrances. The system would allow volunteers access to parts of a school, such as a gym, during off-hours while keeping the rest of the building secure, Mhyre said.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
Several districts have added security
Here are some security improvements in the Everett, Marysville, Monroe and Mukilteo school districts:
Everett
Installation of a comprehensive security system is currently under way. When complete, about 30 cameras will be installed at each high school, 20 at middle schools and 15 at each elementary school, said spokeswoman Mary Waggoner. Cameras already are installed at Cascade and Everett high schools, she said.
This summer, the district will begin working with emergency dispatch agencies and law enforcement to enable 911 dispatchers to see floor maps of district schools with camera locations marked. They would be able to click on a camera icon to view it and report what they see to first responders.
Marysville
Money for security upgrades was in the district’s 2014 technology levy. The next step is choosing a company to do the work, said school district spokeswoman Jody Runyon. There’s no time line for installing equipment in the district’s 22 buildings, but work will begin “in the near future,” she said.
Monroe
A districtwide upgrade to safety and security systems, including cameras, is part of a bond proposal going before voters April 28, said school district spokeswoman Rosemary O’Neil. The district is installing cameras in school buses, with about half equipped with cameras so far, she said.
Mukilteo
Steps such as electronic card keys for staff, perimeter fencing of schools
and surveillance cameras are under consideration by a consultant. Every school will have security improvements, said spokesman Andy Muntz.
The improvements will be made at elementary schools in August, at middle schools in August 2016 and high schools in August 2017, he said.
Correction, April 2, 2015: DJ Jakala is the spokeswoman for the Edmonds School District. Her name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.
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