Pioneer getting attention in Detroit

There's an article in the Detroit Free Press about the new cameras being installed at Pioneer. Good to see that they talked to Student Council Executive President Bennett Stein, instead of just quoting Mr. White.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007711300395

Camera plan pits security vs. privacy

Student council enlists ACLU to fight school district

November 30, 2007

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI

FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

When Ann Arbor Schools officials brought up the idea of putting surveillance cameras in Pioneer High School, the student council acted quickly. It passed a resolution against the plan and brought in the American Civil Liberties Union.

School officials said vandalism and theft have been a problem at the school and the cameras are a step toward curbing that.

But, "We as Pioneer students were concerned about our privacy, and also about the way that it was brought about," said Bennett Stein, 17, student council executive president, said of the plan. "It was never brought to any student body. Obviously they have to make a lot of decisions without that input, but this is a very big issue, a very important issue."

"We know some people aren't happy," said Ann Arbor Public Schools spokeswoman Liz Margolis, adding that Pioneer, with 3,000 students, is the largest high school in the state.

"They're doing a very good job of stating their concerns. But we really feel their security trumps that, at this point," she said.

Security cameras are fast becoming commonplace in schools across the country. No one knows what percentage of schools have added cameras, but almost all large school systems have them, said Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center.

But some worry that the cameras infringe on civil rights and question whether they help with security. The ACLU has requested records from Plymouth Canton, Farmington and other school districts to find out what effect the cameras have had on student safety.

"The ACLU is deeply concerned that public high schools are conditioning students to accept that surveillance is normal," said Mike Steinberg, legal director of the group's Michigan chapter and parent of a Pioneer student.

"Schools are supposed to use their precious resources to teach students to appreciate the freedoms we have in this country, not to create a big brother atmosphere."

The Ann Arbor school board is to take up the issue at its next meeting Dec. 12.

Advocates say cameras are a logical and effective way to help keep kids safe.

"For years we've protected hamburger better than we do our kids," said Ken Trump of National School Safety and Security Services. "In the post-Columbine era, there has been greater emphasis on it, for those schools that can afford it."

What is affordable varies from district to district. Ann Arbor plans to spend $88,000 for 53 digital cameras, Margolis said. The district put in a similar system at Huron High School in March. Principal Arthur Williams said there hasn't been a lot of time to weigh the cameras' effectiveness, but he said he believes thefts have dropped off dramatically.

Pioneer's cameras would be in public areas and not classrooms, bathrooms or locker rooms, Margolis said. And the videos would only be viewed by the principal and what the district calls community workers, employees who help patrol hallways and other public areas.

But Stein said the videos can be obtained by others through the Freedom of Information Act. "It could be posted on YouTube; anything could be taken out of context," he said. "I think people are concerned they're not going to only be used for safety."

Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-469-4681 or pwalsh@freepress.com.