OXFORD – The SAD 17 Board of Directors gave first reading approval Monday of a new policy governing video and electronic surveillance on school property.

The policy requires the district to notify staff and students each year that security cameras may be monitoring their activities and may be used in a disciplinary proceeding, such as suspension, expulsion or firing. The notification will be given through handbooks for students, parents and staff, the policy states.

The district applied for, and received, a $26,875 homeland security grant earlier this year to pay for 16 cameras inside Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and two cameras outside.

The high school qualified for the money because it serves as a crisis management site for the Oxford County Emergency Management Agency.

Most of the cameras are now in place inside each of the school’s entrances and outside the bathrooms, Facilities Manager David Marshall said on Wednesday. The cameras will not be reviewed unless there is suspicion of wrongdoing, such as vandalism or acts of violence, he said.

“Nobody just sits there and watches the tape,” Marshall said.

Only the school resource officer, the principal and two assistant principals will have authority to view the tape from monitoring equipment in the resource officer’s office in the school, he said. The superintendent also will have access to the monitoring equipment from the superintendent’s office, he added.

“It’s more to act as a deterrent than anything else,” he said. “What’s really amazing is the kids – they’re used to it. They wave. It doesn’t seem to bother them at all.”

Marshall said students are aware that video surveillance is done on school buses, at Wal-Mart and other large stores, and at banks.

“It’s something as a society that we’ve learned to accept,” he said.

The policy states that it will be up to the superintendent to develop regulations and procedures regarding the use of the cameras and the review of video recordings on school property.

At Monday’s meeting, board member William Hamper asked John Jenness, chairman of the district’s Policy Committee, if he was satisfied that individuals’ civil rights will be protected under the policy.

Jenness said he was comfortable with the provision requiring that staff and students be notified annually that the surveillance is taking place.

The policy governs all district property, including all its schools, other buildings and its vehicles.

“While the Board respects the privacy to which all individuals are entitled, it also recognizes the District’s responsibility to ensure the health, welfare and safety of all staff, students and visitors on school property, and to safeguard District property and equipment,” the policy states.

“After carefully balancing the need for safety and discipline with individuals’ interests in privacy, the Board supports the use of video/electronic surveillance on District property.”

The policy states that students or staff caught on tape violating district policy, building rules or the law “shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. Violations of law may be referred to law enforcement agencies.”

The policy also states that any recordings used in a disciplinary proceeding “may be retained as part of a student’s disciplinary record or staff member’s personnel record.” With regard to video recordings, the district will follow state law governing student and employee records.