Cleveland schools weigh a $603,000 renewal of license-plate cameras

Cleveland Metropolitan School District administrators are recommending a one-year, $603,000 renewal of the Flock Safety license-plate cameras in school parking lots, Ideastream Public Media reported. The school board could vote as early as Oct. 27.

The district runs 201 of the cameras, which photograph every passing vehicle and keep images for at least 30 days. The last contract expired June 30, and the cameras have operated under a short-term extension since.

District officials say the cameras deter car break-ins and connect to police alerts. They estimate a district-run camera system would cost about $346,500 but could not read license plates.

Opponents with the group Flock No Cle have urged the board to end the contract. The district says that before July, outside organizations ran about 130,000 searches of its camera data, 92% of them not by Cleveland police, and it has not explained those searches. Board Chair Sara Elaqad has asked for an internal audit.