You can do a lot with a huge lump sum of money. You could probably bye a car, maybe even pay off your mortgage, and if you really feel up to it you could donate some of the money towards charity. The Cameron school district decided to spend the $85,000 they received from stimulus money on a new camera security system for Parkview, CMS, and CHS.

 

Currently all three schools are still running off their old cameras. Each building currently has about two cameras which cover the main entrances to the schools. Once all of the new cameras are put up, there will be about 17 cameras in each school. The installation didn't come free with the cameras. The school district hired Protection One out of Kansas City, Mo. to install the cameras. The $85,000 stimulus money paid for the installation as well as the cameras in all three buildings. The installation comes with free software updates every month for the camera system. The majority of the cameras will be used inside the schools to monitor doors, hallways, and to make sure students and faculty are safe. There will also be cameras outside of the buildings to monitor parking lots and the school grounds.

 

"None of the schools had to get new cameras; the state gave us a stimulus check and so we took it," explained Cameron High School Principal Mr. Don Gerber. "If we don't use the money, we will lose it." The cameras aren't a result of any particular security concerns for the schools, but just a preventative measure. 

With the new camera system, the administration can sit at their computer and pull up any camera they want. They can zoom in and out and turn the cameras 360 degrees. "If I wanted to, I can go to an outside parking lot camera and zoom in to a license plate halfway across the parking lot," Mr Gerber said. The system can go back 90 days so the administration can see something that has already happened. Administrators can also sit at home on their computer and pull up any camera they want.

 

When the cameras become active and an issue arises, the administration will not have to go off of someone's hearsay; there will be proof. Students don't really seem to notice the cameras. Those who have noticed don't seem to mind that they have been put in place. "The cameras don't really bother me," said Kyra Richardson student at Cameron High school. "My old school, Platte County, had them everywhere!" she added.

 

Cameron High school Assistant Principal and Activities Director Mr. Scott Archibald, agrees. "If you put a statue in the middle of the hallway, people are likely to notice, but after a couple of days, they forget it's there. These cameras will make our school a safer environment for the students and for the welfare of everyone in the building."