Lewiston school officials have approved a plan to install additional cameras and sensors to monitor vaping, security threats and other activities.
Superintendent Jake Langlais said sensors will be added to bathrooms in the middle and high schools, and could detect and alert administrators to vaping, smoking and physical altercations.
“Nobody knows what’s going on in there. So from substance use, abuse, potentially overdoses, severe illness, seizures, there’s lots of reasons we’d want an occupancy heads-up in a restroom,” Langlais told the School Committee on Monday night. “And also for safety, if someone is yelling for help, if different things are going on in the bathroom.”
Cameras also would be added to several other buildings across the school district. Officials expect they could be fully installed and operational by summer 2024.
Marc Rocque, the district’s director of information technology, said the sensors will immediately alert administrators to any activity, allowing them to access cameras and identify students involved.
“Once we get to integrated cameras and sensors, it’ll be at the point where cameras will send you a video clip back of the closest camera to the incident, to help you right then,” Rocque said.
The sensors wouldn’t record audio or video, but would alert administrators to any potential hazards.
Langlais said the district expects to spend about $400,000 as part of the overall camera upgrade, and he expects grants to cover much of the cost.
School Committee members unanimously supported the project on Monday night, pointing to the increase in threats and other incidents.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.