Claire Gilbert is reporting for The Columbia Paper voters in the Chatham Central School District this week will decide the fate of a proposed capital project that includes the installation of security cameras in and around the elementary, middle and high school buildings, the public library and the bus garage. A separate proposition requests funding for major repairs to the school buildings and grounds. Teri Conte, a former member of the Chatham Board of Education opposes the camera proposal, saying she did not see the correlation between installing security cameras and keeping kids safe at school. “There are multiple doors and windows into each and every building in this district,” she said. “They are unalarmed, they are unmonitored and they are easily accessed. Any student inside our building can go to a door, open it, and let anybody in. That’s a problem, and that’s not been addressed. We should not have such easy access into our buildings as we do now. That is a security issue.” District Superintendent Salvatore DeAngelo supports the camera proposal, and during recent board meetings cited cases where cameras were used to vouch for someone’s innocence, or to settle disputes by proving who did what and where. He says the cameras will in no way threaten the safety or privacy of students and staff. The cameras will not be monitored, but the footage recorded would be stored for 14 to 30 days. In addition to the capital project, voters will be asked to fill five board seats and approve the district's $31.9-million spending plan for the 2018-19 school year. Polls are open at the Mary E. Dardess school from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., Tue., May 15. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.