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Plan for security cameras on hold Big Brother won't be watching students when they set foot on high school campuses Tuesday, their first day of school. Corona-Norco school district officials had hoped to install security cameras for the start of school. But proper setup of the equipment takes some planning, said Ted Rozzi, assistant superintendent of facilities. "It's a big job," Rozzi said. Centennial High School will be the first campus to be fitted with the cameras by the end of 2005, Rozzi said. Bidding for installation of the devices will begin this month, he said. "It would be nice for them to do whatever it takes to get the cameras in sooner for the security of the kids," said Doreen Mendoza, whose son attends Centennial. In the meantime, two extra security staff members, one of whom will be a supervisor, will join each comprehensive high school next week, said Assistant Superintendent Thomas Pike. Corona-Norco's other three comprehensive high schools -- Corona, Norco and Santiago -- should get cameras by the end of June 2006, Rozzi said. Each of the four campuses will get about three dozen monitoring devices and other equipment at acost of about$300,000 per school, Rozzi said. The specific locations of the cameras on campus are still being determined, he said. In May, Corona-Norco officials announced that they will install cameras for security purposes after Dominic Redd, a Centennial student, was stabbed to death off-campus. Some linked racial tension to his death. Laura Schnabl, a Centennial parent, said she would rather see the money spent on peer-assistance counseling programs or diversity curriculum in the classrooms. She also has reservations about the cameras interfering with privacy. Generally, only a few bad apples get into trouble, she said. "The pressure from the cameras won't deter their behavior," she said. "They would get expelled anyway." Before Redd's death, the facilities department had plans to install some basic cameras at Roosevelt High School and River Heights Intermediate School -- which will open in Eastvale in about a year -- for property protection, Rozzi said. A few months ago, the focus shifted to staff and security safety which requires much more details and additional cameras, Rozzi said. "You have to have as much as you can to cover all the areas," he said. "You need to do the best comprehensive plan you can." |
