As the Chimacum School District upgrades its security systems, Superintendent Rick Thompson said that installation of the new security cameras will take awhile.

“Our last set of cameras were installed in 1999, mostly in and around the high school building,” Thompson said of the existing equipment, which he deemed out of date and ineffective. “I was the principal of a school in South Tacoma that was being remodeled around that time, so I know the technology has really changed since then.”

Thompson said that the new cameras are having to be retrofitted to perform optimally within building spaces that were not ideally designed by modern security standards.

“I was visiting the Museum of Flight with some of the Boeing Bluebills not long ago, and there’s the new Aviation High School that was built there only a few years back,” Thompson said. “It was three stories tall, and completely configured to preserve security and maximize video surveillance. Obviously, we can’t rebuild our schools to fit the cameras, so we need to make the cameras work within the schools.”

An additional complication has been securing installers to do the job, since as Thompson noted, “The market has been hard for building.”

The Chimacum School District was approved to purchase the cameras directly from B&H Photo for $143,580.60, while Security Services Northwest submitted the accepted bid of $35,588.44, plus permits and tax, to install the cameras and related cabling.

“In any public place in our schools, anyone should have an expectation of safety,” said Thompson, who explained that hallways, parking lots and other common areas in and around the schools would be covered, but classrooms, bathrooms and other private areas would not. “Our goal as a district is to foster a climate that is safe and harassment-free, but as studies show more incidents happening, regardless of location, we’re having to manage a more challenging environment.”

UNRELATED TO TRESPASSING INCIDENT

While Thompson deemed a May 30 incident involving a former Chimacum Middle School student trespassing on school grounds as an illustration of the dangers that can exist, he denied that it was an “inciting event” for the adoption of a newer, expanded camera system. School district officials had previously discussed a newer system with Jay Garthwaite, a manager with Educational Service District 112’s construction services group.

“This is but one of many measures we’re seeking to undertake to keep our schools safe,” Thompson said of the 68 security cameras that the school district expects to have installed by early 2018. “There’s a misconception that the money for this is taking away from money that would go to teachers or the curriculum. It’s capital projects money, so that’s not true, but when our property is vandalized because we can’t monitor it, that does take away funds from other areas.”

Among the areas recent affected by vandalism are the sides of the middle school, by egging, and the schools’ tennis courts, which were struck by what Thompson judged to be either shoe polish or “white-out.”

Thompson said that the Chimacum district’s security needs were highlighted in a previous report by the educational service district, during the facility review process. He added that the school board deliberated over the course of several meetings about the costs, timing and effectiveness of a new set of cameras.

“Our principals, faculty and office staff are extensions of our eyes and ears,” Thompson said. “With training on this system, they’ll be able see and hear even farther.”