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NEW BEDFORD — The School Committee is set to approve spending $400,000 for 200 new security cameras on Monday, the vote coming after a lengthy conversation between committee members and district officials about the money moving into security systems during budget transfers.

A district spokesperson confirmed the number of cameras to The Light on Friday morning, but the number was not mentioned at a prior finance subcommittee meeting attended by School Committee members who recommended the purchase for approval. The 200 cameras would be “used to replace old/failing cameras” at New Bedford High, according to the spokesperson, but School Committee members had expressed concerns anyway. 

Earlier this week, School Committee members Colleen Dawicki and Melissa Costa questioned the district’s school security plans during a finance subcommittee meeting. But they later voted to recommend the spending on an updated camera system as part of a larger transfer approval.

The security camera debate comes after similar questions in February about the administration’s decision to spend $35,000 to study the installation of metal detectors in New Bedford High School. 

So far, committee members, despite their initial resistance in subcommittee meetings, have recommended funds for approval.

“It doesn’t sit right with me,” said Costa about the security camera spending. She voiced concern about the almost “half a million dollars requested” without the School Committee having prior knowledge of the security needs.

During this past week’s meeting, the interim assistant superintendent of finances, Barry Rabinovitch, explained the purchase to Costa and Dawicki. “The issue with the high school cameras is that when they were redone, maybe eight or nine years ago… they only replaced half the cameras. There are two different systems in the schools, and one doesn’t talk to the other.”

A new camera system would allow for centralized monitoring across all schools, Rabinovitch said. “If something occurs, they can get to it quicker,” he said.

Visible cameras survey the exteriors of many New Bedford schools, including near the entrances where visitors must buzz in. 

This month, the district will internally transfer almost $1 million, which is typical for end-of-year budgeting practices. Large springtime transfers happen because unfilled staff positions and turnover can leave extra funds.

Last month, for example, large transfers supported budget shortfalls in special education and nursing services.

The largest chunk of this month’s transfers are for the 200 security cameras, and Dawicki and Costa engaged Rabinovitch in a lengthy discussion about potentially using these extra funds to directly support teachers and students. Dawicki said she hoped more surplus funds would be used to “make an investment in kids versus stuff,” or initiatives that “enhance a students’ experience here.”

Rabinovitch responded that many transfers are going directly into the classrooms to buy furniture, workbooks, and to support a senior lounge at the high school. Both Dawicki and Costa asked more questions about potential uses for funds, including field trips, and also suggested creating a prioritized plan for surplus funds in future years.

In the end, the finance subcommittee recommended the transfers for approval. The full School Committee will vote on the transfers, including the $400,000 for cameras, at its meeting on Monday, April 8, at Keith Middle School at 6 pm.

Security discussions more frequent in subcommittee

In February, a similar school security conversation heated up when the district put a $35,000 charge for what it called a “weapons detection assessment” into its request for fund transfers. Rabinovitch, the financial manager, told members in the finance subcommittee meeting that the district had paid for a security specialist’s report on how to install metal detectors at New Bedford High.

“This is the first I’m hearing about it,” said Costa at the time. “And I feel that it’s a misuse of our funds.” Costa also said, “I’m not crazy about us dipping into $30,000 for an assessment.”

School Committee member Bruce Oliveira added his disapproval for how the district classified this transfer. By transferring funds from elsewhere in the security budget, the transfer item was designated as “informational” only — meaning the School Committee had no authority to deny it.

“Why isn’t that a School Committee issue?” asked Oliveira. “I look at that and the school department looking to purchase a [metal detector] system such as that, and I see a district policy issue.”

The district administration has not shared the contents of this report publicly, nor has it made any public comments about a need for metal detectors or whether weapons are being brought into school.

Many districts around the state, including Chicopee and Brockton, already use metal detectors. And in Boston, where some schools have metal detectors, an overwhelming majority of parents said they preferred having them, a survey found last year.

Metal detectors are already installed at Whaling City, the New Bedford district’s alternative school. Principal John Tweedie told the School Committee in February that the security measures and a cell-phone ban made his school the “safest place to experience academics” for New Bedford’s students.

According to School Committee members, the metal detector assessment was later discussed during the executive session of the March School Committee meeting. (Executive sessions, which do not take place in public, are commonly used to negotiate union contracts.) But even in that more-cloistered setting, many details were not shared with School Committee members.

“It was about the timeline and the process,” Dawicki said about the presentation, but School Committee members were not privy to exact information about the metal detector system or how it would be set up, due to security concerns, she said.

According to Rabinovitch, administrators at the high school will receive a presentation with pertinent details.

School Committee member satisfied with district’s explanation

Of the three School Committee members on the finance subcommittee, only Dawicki attended the April 1 meeting in person. Costa attended remotely, while Oliveira was absent for personal, health-related reasons.

The finance subcommittee reviews the district’s salaries, grant spending, and internal transfers before recommending whether or not the full School Committee should approve those actions. 

Walking out of the meeting, Dawicki answered questions about why she ultimately recommended the funds transfer for approval and what more the district might do to provide advance information about its spending. At the time, the district had not shared that the $400,000 order would purchase 200 cameras. 

Costa, the School Committee member who attended virtually, did not respond to outreach. The New Bedford Educators Association, the local teachers’ union, also did not respond to questions.

“In general we’ve been trying to update our [school-building] systems,” said Dawicki, which she said included everything from security vestibules to cameras. “In the scheme of things, it’s aligned with investments that we’ve made in the past, but it’s an opportunity for everyone to understand where it’s going and how it all works.”

The meeting had “triggered questions for me about why are we doing things this way and are there ways we could get ahead of these questions.”

Dawicki said she intends to speak with Superintendent Andrew O’Leary about creating School Committee priorities so that end-of-year surplus funding flows according to a plan. “Can we come into these conversations with more clarity,” she said, “so we’re not having these questions come up at a late stage in the game?”

Dawicki said she wants teachers to know, “that anything you need, right now we can afford it. So get in your orders and your requests. Don’t feel shy about asking for things.”

What would her priority be for surplus spending? “I’d love to see us have an overarching field trip strategy,” Dawicki said, so that every student gets quality experiences out of the classroom.

Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Friday, April 5, 2024, to add the number of security cameras and to clarify that School Committee members were not aware of that number when they made comments.