Wootton to Install 88 New, High-Res Security Cameras

For the first time since Wootton’s renovations in 2000, the Rockville high school is set to upgrade its security system.

Eighty-eight high-resolution cameras will be installed throughout the school, replacing and nearly tripling the school's current 32 cameras, Security Team Leader Greg Melvin said.

“We’re going to have a much more comprehensive coverage of the hallways and the exterior,” Melvin said.

Of the 88 cameras being installed, four will cover high traffic areas of the school’s exterior including two on the front entrance, one on the lower (student) parking lot, and one on the portable classrooms behind the school, Wootton’s Business Manager Phil Hill said.

These cameras – which Hill said were the only ones Wootton paid for – cost approximately $3,000 each. The rest of the cameras are covered by Montgomery County Public Schools, Hill said.

Currently, Wootton’s lack of cameras allows for parts of the school to go uncovered. According to Melvin, there were many “dark areas” in which the security staff could not monitor.

“Kids are smart, they know where the cameras are, where they aren’t,” he said. “Now, we’re still going to have areas that aren’t covered, but we’ve shed the light on a lot of the dark areas. We had certain areas of the building where we had no idea.”

The cameras are used primarily for investigative purposes, Melvin said.

In addition to having a more complete security system, the new system makes it easier to monitor too.

Wootton currently houses its camera system in a “throw away room,” Hill said.

“The heating and [air conditioning] sucks in there,” Hill said. “It’s just a room we had to pick, like ‘What room do you not care about?’ because we were so pressed for space.”

The new cameras, Hill said, will all be accessible online, allowing him and the security staff access from any computer in the school.

Hill – who is in charge of the building on not just school days, but weekends as well – is hoping to be granted access from his home computer, which will require a security clearance, he said.

This would allow Hill to monitor the many weekend activities in the building, such as athletics, without having to pay for a staff member to be on duty, he said.

Wootton Principal Dr. Michael Doran said he’s excited by the project, which should be completed by the end of January.

“The more I know where the little buggers are, the better,” Doran said. “It’s just always nice when people say ‘oh this happened, or that happened,’ to just go to a camera and actually verify it… So it’s nice to be able to get to the truth. Not that we use it often, not that we expect to use it often, but when you need it, it’s just nice to have."