Hundreds of security cameras to be replaced at Sycamore high, middle schools

SYCAMORE – Sycamore middle and high schools are getting new security cameras in time for the fall, district superintendent Steve Wilder recently said.

Wilder said the district is replacing all of the security cameras at the high school and middle school, but won’t be replacing the cameras at the elementary schools at this time. Wilder said the new cameras will operate on a new software system, separate from the old cameras that will remain at elementary schools.

“Part of the issue we’ve had with cameras is they’re all on one system, and that bogs down the software,” Wilder said during a June 24 Sycamore School District 427 board meeting. “The hope is that the elementary, the cameras in the elementary school start to function a little bit better, a little bit quicker, a little bit more accessible.”

More than 200 new security cameras will be installed at Sycamore middle school and high school this summer, officials said.

Answering a question from board member Alex Grados, Wilder said the security cameras will be installed on the interior and exterior of the buildings. Board member Beth Marie Evans said “that’s good,” when Wilder confirmed the replacement security cameras would managed on a new software system.

In an annual student discipline policy and safety review submitted to the board on June 24, Wilder explained the reason for replacing security cameras.

“Access to the cameras, and aging software has been a challenge for the last few years,” Wilder wrote in the review. “But, we believe the updates this summer will give us more consistent access with clearer images and reliability.”

Wilder met with Sycamore Police Chief Erik Mahan, Sycamore Fire Chief Bart Gilmore, deputy fire chief Jim Ward, and the city’s public works director Mark Anderson to discuss crisis plans, according to the review

“We discussed how the city would handle a crisis, but also discussed the school district’s crisis plan. So, a good conversation with them,” Wilder said. “It’s something that we do every year, but we don’t publish that plan on purpose.”