Conference held on Springfield Public Schools cameras and police surveillance

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Important questions and conversations were shared by those in the Springfield Public Schools community on Thursday night.

The topic: the district allowing the Springfield Police Department to access surveillance cameras in the schools.

Page Monroe, a mother of one school committee member, was among those who had concerns about this policy.

“We were thinking that police have the cameras in the school so that they can target certain students.”

The department was given access to the video in April 2021, with the goal of maintaining safety for staff and students.

For three and a half years, many were concerned cameras were tracking their every move. Law enforcement and district officials denied watching those in the building.

“We do not want to watch you (or) livestream you. We don’t want to watch inside the schools. My officers, unless they’re SROs, and you know most of them, we have nothing to do with inside of your school,” Police Superintendent Larry Akers stated.

All of this coming after the shooting incident at Sci-Tech earlier this year and a bomb threat hoax at Chestnut Middle School last month.

While Springfield Honors Academy senior Naomi Edwards understands that, there’s another issue on her mind: a lack of communication.

“I didn’t know about it as a student, my parents didn’t know about it, my teachers didn’t know about it. It was just not very transparent,” she claimed.

Her point was echoed by some policy protestors in the past, expressing that the committee made this decision without the community’s input.

For Edwards, she wants that to change.

“I’d love to actually have some students meet with Superintendent Akers and Dr. Sonia Dinnall. I just really want to get this sorted out before I graduate,” she emphasized.

After a night of discussion, Monroe said she supports the surveillance camera policy, but also says she will always listen to what students and staff have to say.

“We need a better understanding of what’s really going on with the situation because they’re not going to leave it alone until they find out what’s really going on in this situation.”

The Springfield Public Schools Committee will hold another forum on this topic At Brightwood-Lincoln School on December 12.