This group is for those who oppose the proposed surveillance cameras in the halls of Seaholm and Groves.
BASIC INFORMATION ON THE SECURITY SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS THAT ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO GET INSTALLED
There are a group of students who are against the instillation of Security Cameras and they have many reasons for their opinion. These are points we feel all community members should know.
• It is important to realize the cameras will be installed at both Seaholm and Groves.
• Costs could range from the $50,000 to the $100,000 or even drastically more. This is just the initial instillation fee, not including maintenance and upgrading the system fully every 5 to 10 years.
• This is an amount of money that could be the salary for up to 4 Para-professionals or 2 teachers
o Our school claims to not have enough money so they are cutting funds for key school activities, but now they can afford this.
o Even if this is a bond issue, is this not a wasted bond. We could create a bond to help teachers out.
• In a time where our school district is in steep debt, many of the newly hired teachers are concerned as to whether or not they will have a position at our school in the future. We think that it is unfair that our school is willing to sacrifice money that could be put toward anything from a teachers pay, textbooks, funding for class activities, or anything that is beneficial to our children’s education.
• Administration claims that they are installing these to cut down on theft in the school; we must ask ourselves if cameras will really work, and if theft is really the reason for the cameras?
o The bulk of theft occurs in the locker rooms, but they aren’t allowed to install the cameras in the locker rooms, so they will be placed outside of the locker rooms. Students can then be blamed for theft just for being viewed exiting the locker rooms after something was stolen. You don’t even need to be seen in the act of theft or with the object. Just not having a pass or a teacher’s support for why you are out of class is enough for you to get the blame.
• Administration says that cameras will promote a feeling of security. There are a few questions to consider when thinking about this claim.
o Are you feeling unsafe? Because it is our belief that Seaholm is already a safe environment. The claim is that they will increase a feeling of security but if we already feel safe what is the need.
o Will cameras really create more safety? They are inanimate object that do nothing beyond recording, take into consideration the tragedy that was columbine, that school had video surveillance and it didn’t stop any of the violence that occurred.
o What's wrong with our school? Has administration lost the trust in their own students to a point that they have to spy on their daily activities.
o Is this the path we need to take? We feel this may be just an expensive 'quick fix' and that there are other alternatives that should be explored.
o How will a surveillance system affect student morale? We feel the cameras will create a climate of fear and distrust instead of actually having an impact on the identified problems.
o Will there be measures and procedures to stop racial profiling? Who is to say that groups of people will not be targeted based on race, gender, or ethnicity?
Recap
We believe this is a waste of money. It is also our belief that it will accomplish few of it objectives including those of cutting down on crime and promoting safety. We also are concerned about this being just a first step, is this going to lead into more intrusive servailence like cameras in classrooms. We also fear that this may be a gateway into further controlling means. Seaholm has always taken pride in being a comfortable learning environment in which student do not need to be watched. We ask ourselves, what has changed?
Alternatives to the cameras.
1. More student responsibility. The majority of theft that occurs in the locker rooms is because the objects are not locked up properly.
2. Make a requirement that all lockers in Seaholm have a lock on them if they are in use.
3. Re-evaluate our current hall monitors that we are paying, and question whether they are truly monitoring the halls or are they running errands for the administration.
In BPS’ recent winter edition of In Focus, Dr. Larson wrote about our districts devotion to character building qualities such as honesty, independence, trust, responsibility, and accountability. “I am proud to be part of a school district that embraces character education. Just like in the book I have recently discovered our staff, students, and families, are focusing on the things that really matter.” Parents, we ask you to think whether or not security cameras are truly something that matter.
Thanks so much for listening; we thought you should know what’s going on, and that you can affect the final decision. If you want to help out, please join the facebook group Seaholm and Groves Students Against Security Cameras. Get involved and get your friends involved.
Thank you
From some concerned students
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