District staff propose major camera upgrade at North Brunswick; plan uses existing camera funds

District safety and operations staff presented a proposal to upgrade and expand external surveillance coverage at North Brunswick High School, explaining how a smart camera platform speeds investigations and increases perimeter coverage. "Implementing these new 82 cameras at North will allow that control overhaul at North Brunswick," the school safety coordinator said, and staff later described 19 additional pole positions for parking lot and entrance coverage, noting the total retrofit/addition count would come to about 101 cameras.

Staff said the district previously implemented a pilot smart camera system at West Brunswick and had already replaced about 66 cameras at North; the current proposal would complete replacements and add new pole‑mounted cameras. A staff member explained that some pole cameras provide multi‑directional views that serve multiple coverage needs, and the coordinator recounted a site visit to scale back vendor recommendations to match the school’s needs.

Board members asked about facial recognition capabilities; a committee member directly addressed the concern: "No. It doesn't have any facial recognition before that rumor gets out," the member said, and staff described the system’s ability to identify clothing or objects for searches rather than to run facial identification.

Funding questions were addressed: staff said a camera account has funds available and that the project would be funded from previously budgeted money; the committee was asked for consent to include the proposal on the board agenda. Staff said infrastructure cabling exists for the cameras being replaced and that contract language covers necessary additional wiring if new poles are installed.

What happens next: staff will put the project forward for board consideration under consent and return contract details for formal approval.