Jefferson City Public Schools look for new security camera system

Jefferson City Public Schools may soon be getting a new security camera system to keep students safe.

All schools have used the same system, Milestone, for about six years. But ongoing maintenance costs and licensing fees have increased to the point where the district is looking for other options.

Right now, the system costs the district about $19,000 per year for licensing fees plus maintenance and costs to install new needed cameras, according to the district’s director of technology, Joe Martin.

Wednesday, the JCPS safety and security coordinator, Kurt Mueller, showed ABC 17 News how the system is used at one of the elementary schools not only to keep students safe, but also to solve behavior and other issues.

“It is not a surveillance system,” Mueller said. “It’s not a monitoring system. We use it for security. And very often, the way it’s utilized for us is in a reactive fashion. If we have perhaps an issue that develops into property damage or there has been a behavior issue, any kind of discipline issue, it’s a nice resource to reflect on.”

A typical JCPS elementary school has about 12 cameras, and the high school has roughly triple that amount across campus.

More cameras can be added when administrators find problem areas.

“A recent incident at one of our elementary schools — a principal was able to articulate to me that she’s had several behavior issues happen at a location at a playground where no camera location was directed at,” Mueller said. “So we examine that.”

Right now, the IT department is in the process of selecting one of several bids for the project.

“We’re just taking this opportunity — could we make the system better?” Mueller said. “And is there better value out there?”

The board of education is set to approve the selected bid at its meeting in April. If a new system is chosen, installation is set to start over the summer and should be completed before the start of next school year.