Automated Camera System Riles Up School Committee

MELROSE, MA — The School Committee hit the pause button on an at times impassioned discussion centering around an automated camera system that would broadcast school sports and events.

The halt means while the fall sports season is still in play, live broadcasting this summer's high school graduation through the system is not, according to Park Commissioner John McLaughlin, who has been brokering the deal.

The topic took up almost exactly half of the School Committee's 2 hour, 18 minute meeting Thursday night. For a night that saw the farewell of longtime Superintendent Cyndy Taymore and reaction to the state's back-to-school guidelines released earlier in the day, it was the camera system that demanded the most conversation.

Members debated the merits of the Pixellot camera system — which would broadcast school events from the middle school gym, Marcoux gym and Fred Green Field, and include a portable camera to broadcast other events — as well the merits of the discussion itself.

"I think it's absurd that we are spending so much time talking about something that's probably related to football and not much else, and we have bigger fish to fry than sports," School Committee member Jennifer Razzi-Thomas said at the tail end of the discussion. "We are gong into a fall after three or four months where we have not had school and that should be our focus."

Supporters of the system said it would open new ways of staying connected during a pandemic that will likely heavily restrict attendance at school events.

"We have sports teams playing to empty stadiums. Arts performances with no one in the venue," McLaughlin told Patch over the phone. "We think this is going to translate into the public school programming in the fall."

Here's how the Pixellot system works. People would subscribe at a cost of $11 per month or $70 per year to get access to any and all sporting events at all levels played at Fred Green Field, the Marcoux Gym and the middle school gym — as well as anywhere else in the country with the system. The school department would be able to hand out a certain number of discounted subscriptions.

Any other school events at those locations — or at a location where the portable camera would be — can be watched for free. McLaughlin cited that while dispelling the notion that it would be strictly for sports.

The three hard cameras and software would cost the city $10,500, money the recreation department is willing to front. The money, which is from the revenues the city gets from field rentals, is expected to be reimbursed from the federal CARES Act. A tech upgrade for Fred Green Field would also cost the city around $20,000, which is also believed to be reimbursable.

The portable camera, along with a tripod and laptop, would be purchased thanks to a $7,000 donation from the Victoria McLaughlin Foundation, a foundation created by John McLaughlin and his wife aimed at supporting Melrose families for extracurricular activities and fine arts.

Still, the costs gave concern to some.

"Any expense that we have to incur know that's nice to have or we even want to have ... I just don't think that this is the time," School Committee member Margaret Driscoll said. She noted CARES Act funds could perhaps go to better use for the fall.

"I just think there are so many people who are having issues, there are so many kids who are hungry, that this is one more have vs. have not," she said.

McLaughlin told Patch the city has $2.4 million in CARES Act funding it can tap by the end of the year. In June, the city put in for almost $500,000 for the first round of reimbursements. Because this is an accessibility issue caused by the pandemic, the city believes the camera system would be eligible.

The city has already signed a contract for the Fred Green Field camera, as it is under the purview of the parks commission and not the school district. But if the district doesn't grant permission for events to broadcast, the camera would be nothing more than an ornament. (McLaughlin told Patch that if the School Committee does not vote favorably on the matter, the contract will not be consummated and no money will have been spent.)

"We have no intention of putting the camera there without the ability to stream high school sports," he said.

McLaughlin told Patch the contract was signed to get the system installed by the Aug. 7 high school graduation, something that won't happen now. (There are expected to be other local broadcast options.) He didn't expect the kind of pushback he saw Thursday, particularly because he said he had already gotten support from Brodeur, Taymore and O'Connell.

Other concerns ranged from privacy to being overly sports-centric — and particularly football-centric.

McLaughlin said the portable camera is so non-sporting events can be broadcast. He also said Fred Green Field will likely be home to more than just the football team; The soccer teams in the fall and lacrosse teams in the spring could be playing if there are limits on spectators. Separately, the Stoneham Arena where the hockey teams play indicated it would be open to installing a camera.

"Ultimately it strikes me that there is significant upside to this proposal with no obvious downside or cost to the district, and that it is worthy of our favorable consideration," School Committee Chair Ed O'Connell said.

But not everyone was on board.

"I think this is a waste of our time," Razzi-Thomas said. "We have many more important things to do. We have a new superintendent starting in two weeks or less. We have to say goodbye to our beloved current superintendent. I am upset with the amount of time we are spending on cameras and sports when we should be focused on re-entry and orientation of our new superintendent and not concerned about football at this time."

McLaughlin will return at the next School Committee meeting with a representative of the National Federation of State High School Associations, the organization that uses Pixellot equipment to stream. In the meantime, the School Committee is seeking public input from parents on the proposal.

"It's such a great no-cost solution to the City of Melrose, I can't believe what this has turned into," McLaughlin said.