The Springfield School Committee is asking for public comments about its agreement to let the city's police request access to live security camera footage in public schools.
The district held a public hearing session at the DeBerry/Swan elementary school Thursday night.
Springfield School Committee Member LaTonia Monroe Naylor said a 2021 agreement on the security cameras expired during the summer. Before voting this coming January on whether to renew the permission, she wanted to hear people's opinions on it.
"We want to make sure that the new agreement properly reflects what's happening, but also that it's taken into consideration the concerns,” Naylor said. “Like some of the parents asked, ‘What about the privacy of their kids? How long does the police have access? Or do the police actually have access? Like, what does that really look like?'"
Naylor said the agreement gives police access to live camera footage upon request.
Springfield Honors Academy student Davian Pagan said he's uncomfortable with police having that access.
"How can we trust the police department when we know they have assaulted students in the past? How can we trust them when they are currently under a federal consent decree due to excessive force?” Pagan said.
Springfield police superintendent Lawrence Akers attended the meeting and clarified the police would only request this access in the event of an emergency.
"We watch cameras when there's a life-threatening event going on. We don't care what you do any time else during the day,” Akers said to the students present at the comment session. “If there is an active shooter in that school ... and I heard one young lady say, "It's not going to happen here.' Oh, it could happen here.”
Akers added his grandchildren are in the Springfield public school system and he would not want them surveilled.
“There's no way in the world I'm going to allow anyone in my police department to just turn on the camera so we can look and see what you're doing for no reason,” Akers said.
Mayor Domenic Sarno, also a member of the School Committee, said in a statement that “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.”
A second public comment session will be held at the Brightwood/Lincoln School on December 12.
