South Portland schools to install cameras this summer; secure vestibules proceeding after bids come in under budget

South Portland Superintendent Tim Matheny and Director of Operations and Safety Mike Nally told the School Board on June 9 that the district will install new cloud-based camera systems at all five elementary schools this summer and is moving forward on secure vestibule construction after a public bid process produced two bids below the referendum budget.

The cameras will cover exterior entry points, main passageways and public spaces but not individual classrooms, Nally said. The systems are the same technology used at the middle school, upgraded by two years, and the district expects to stagger work through July and August with each school’s installation taking roughly five to seven business days.

The secure vestibule project was divided into two phases. Nally said the district put Brown, Kahler and Small elementary schools out for bid for possible summer work and planned Skillen and Dyer for summer 2026 because Skillen will require a larger footprint change and additional permitting. The district held an open house for contractors and opened bids publicly; two local contractors submitted proposals. Nally said both bids were under budget and that district staff are reviewing line-item differences before finalizing contracts.

"We received two bids that came in under budget," Nally said. "Mike Johanning and I have a little bit more homework to do in terms of digging down in those numbers to make sure they're reasonable. There is a delta between those two, so that always kind of makes you scratch your head a little bit." He added the district gave contractors a hard-stop calendar date of Aug. 29 to meet school-opening timelines.

Board members asked about equity of staging work across schools; Nally said the decision to begin with the three smaller scopes was intended to deliver protections more quickly rather than delay all work until a single, larger project could be completed.

On cameras, Nally said the work is “airtight” barring an unforeseen problem, and that the district will use the same cloud-based vendor and camera technology already in place at the middle school. "That'll give us a capability that we just, we don't have right now," he said.

No formal board vote was required at the meeting to proceed with the work; Nally described the procurement steps and timeline and said staff would return with contract details for final administrative approval.

The superintendent earlier noted the referendum passed last November provides funding for these upgrades and for roof replacements at three schools.

If contractors meet projected lead times and approvals, cameras will be active before the start of the 2025–26 school year and secure vestibule construction will proceed in the phased schedule described by Nally.