School Surveillance Camera Funds Restored

The Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday night to restore $1 million in current Cobb Education SPLOST III funds to complete the installation of surveillance cameras in high schools.

The vote, which passed unanimously (7-0), came after the Cobb Facilities and Technology Committee, which conducts SPLOST oversight, urged the board to spend the contingency funding to improve security.

Camera installation at the 16 high schools in the Cobb County School District was delayed when the funding was cut as part of across-the-board reductions in the SPLOST III program.

The $1 million represents around 20 percent of SPLOST III money designated for surveillance cameras.  The cuts did not affect installations at elementary and middle schools.

When the project is completed, each high school will have installed around 64 digital high-density cameras, according to Chris Ragsdale, the district's deputy superintendent for operational support.

He said that with analog cameras, "you can tell if someone is walking down the hall," but that's about it. The digital HD cameras provide greater descriptive detail about possible intruders and unwanted visitors.

Ragsdale said "it's our expectation" the job can be completed with current SPLOST III funds, but if not, SPLOST IV funding will be used.

But he added, "It's not our intent to exhaust our budget just because we have the extra funds."