In the News
Mayor Sarno and Superintendent Akers to attend School Committee Public Input Session on School Cameras
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers will attend the School Committee’s Public Input Session being held Thursday, November 14th at DeBerry/Swan School.
The Springfield School Committee is seeking public input on its current agreement with the Springfield Police Department (SPD) regarding the use of cameras inside Springfield Public Schools.
Mayor Sarno and Superintendent Akers support the agreement between Springfield Public Schools (SPS) and the Springfield Police Department (SPD) that allows SPD access to SPS cameras during an emergency situation in order to analyze and respond to potential threats to our schools.
See answers to Feqeuntly Asked Questions below
Mayor Sarno states, “The partnership between our Springfield Police and Public Schools to access school cameras during an emergency is an important safeguard to protect students, staff, and families in the case of an emergency or threat. The collaboration enabled by this agreement has already prevented tragedy and protected our schools. It is important that we continue to uphold it as we know that it is a life-saving measure that can take minutes off emergency response should any of our schools face a threat or emergency. Knowing what they are responding to and where to go is crucial. Safety of our students, teachers, staff, families and school community is paramount and that includes protecting privacy and safeguarding against surveillance abuse. Police are not and cannot monitor our schools 24/7, or surveil our students and/or staff. Their access to school cameras is permitted only in collaboration/agreement with school department officials in limited emergency situations, and all instances are logged. It is a limited group of SPD staff that have this access during an emergency in order to gather the best information possible and respond appropriately. Superintendent Akers and I will continue to support the safety and security of our schools.”
Community members are encouraged to attend one of two upcoming meetings to learn about the current policy and share feedback on this topic.
• Thursday, November 14th at DeBerry/Swan School, 680 Union St.
• Thursday, December 12th at Brightwood/Lincoln School, 255 Plainfield St.
The meetings, which aim to inform the public of the current policy and solicit feedback, will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and will be live-streamed on the district’s website and Facebook page. Input gathered will help inform future School Committee decisions regarding the agreement with SPD.
