DeKALB | DeKalb High School now can watch its students with 62 cameras placed throughout campus at a cost of $81,000.

With the possibility of later review, DHS is trying to meet the security needs of students and faculty.

The school will soon have 62 motion-sensitive security cameras to monitor the campus. Twelve of these cameras will be outside the building and 50 will be inside to monitor line-of-sight corridors, stairwells and more than 50 entryways, said Paul Beilfuss, DeKalb School District superintendent.

The $81,000 needed to purchase the security cameras is coming from capital — not educational — funds, Beilfuss said. The money the school board is budgeting for the cameras cannot be spent on other educational purposes.

The school takes money from the capital fund to repair the damages they are trying to prevent.

Police and fire personnel will have access to the footage from Web-based digital cameras via a laptop. In the event of a fire or intruder, police can pinpoint the exact location of the problem while on their way to the school.

DHS safety coordinator John Duback thinks the 62 cameras are hardly extreme.

“The number of camera angles to secure the building justifies that amount,” Duback said.

The hope is the cameras will serve as a deterrent to students and others considering doing anything illegal, which has been a problem in the recent past.

“It’s as much with an eye to the future as to the past,” Duback said. “There have been some transgressions, and we’re trying to reduce them.”

One of these situations to which Duback referred was the break-in prior to the June 2005 graduation. After a lengthy investigation, 14 students were found to be responsible. With the knowledge that someone is watching, administration hopes vandalism and break-ins will no longer be a problem.

“This is the first piece of [a variety of] safety security measures,” Beilfuss said.

Other pieces of the plan include the installation of card-reader locks. This will allow security to know who is in the building at all times. In addition, a district-wide crisis plan will be put in place as a precautionary measure for any natural disasters or “unfortunate events.”

The first phase of the installation of the security cameras will begin this semester, beginning with the school’s interior.

Stephanie Wise is a City Reporter for the Northern Star