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District outlines proposal for school‑safety dispatchers to monitor campus cameras; trustees seek coverage and training details
Summary
Central Unified presented a proposal to create three full‑time, 10‑month school‑safety dispatcher positions—one per high school—to monitor campus security cameras in real time. Trustees raised questions about continuous coverage, summer months, role overlap with student liaisons and metrics to measure effectiveness.
District safety staff presented a proposed new job classification—school‑safety dispatcher—intended to provide real‑time monitoring and quicker response for high‑school camera systems. Director Cuellar introduced the staff report; Superintendent Marshall framed it as a response to recent campus safety discussions.
Administration proposed staffing three full‑time, 10‑month classified positions (one per high school) with salary and health/welfare costs estimated in the packet. Director Cuellar described the job as combining camera monitoring, clerical documentation and real‑time radio communication with student‑liaisons and law enforcement as needed. Cuellar told trustees the district currently relies primarily on campus staff and SRO offices for camera access and that much of the footage is used for post‑event forensics rather than live monitoring.
Trustees questioned operational details. Trustee Sellers asked who currently monitors cameras (SROs and site administrators) and whether the proposed positions would be proactive rather than reactive. Cuellar said the new roles are intended to speed response time and provide a trained camera‑monitoring function, but stressed the need to measure outcomes and train staff. Board members sought clarity about coverage during lunches, absences or summer months; the administration said the proposal uses 10‑month positions but agreed to consider summer coverage options or using summer‑school staffing models if warranted.
Trustee Kurfand and others asked how the dispatcher role differs from student liaisons; Cuellar explained student liaisons provide physical campus supervision while the dispatcher role focuses on technical camera systems and triage. The district cited approximate camera counts: about 120 cameras at Central East High School, about 80 at Central High School and about 125 at Justin Garza High School, numbers the director said inform the monitoring workload.
No action was taken; the item was presented for information and will return on a future agenda if the board directs action. Trustees asked administration to provide additional detail on training, outcome measures, summer coverage and how dispatcher duties would be backfilled during absences.
