Paducah Public Schools

Shively said while there are still a few additional cameras being added to “potential blind spots” outside the original scope of the project, upgrading the existing camera systems in Paducah Tilghman High School, Paducah Middle School and the Paducah Innovation Hub and installing new systems in areas that previously had none — like Clark, McNabb and Morgan elementary schools, as well as the bus garage and annex area, sports facilities and other locations — are complete.

Advanced safety features for the system powered by AI processing chips include enhanced night vision and the ability to input specific data the smart technology can recognize and alert users to, Paducah Public Schools Chief School Resource Officer Scotty Davis said. Other features include an accessible cloud-based interface and flashing lights on the cameras, along with the capability to give audio commands like trespassing warnings.

Paducah Public Schools and the city of Paducah also signed a memorandum of understanding in November with the Paducah Police Department and the Paducah Fire Department, giving the agencies live access to footage with the goal of enhancing emergency response.

“The focus is getting the first responders to where they need to be or reviewing something we need to review as quickly as possible,” Shively said. “This is a 21st century system. It’s been used in the United States government up until we started putting it in in August, and it’s extremely user friendly and has been extremely helpful across our buildings in our district.”

Shively said the response to the system as it has been implemented has been positive.

“I think the major feedback I’ve heard with this camera system, along with the Centegix badge, is it has made our faculty and staff feel safer, and our students feel safer,” Shively said. “We are safer. We have cameras on playgrounds now. We didn’t have that at our elementary schools when we started the school year.

Davis said he’s heard similar feedback from teachers and staff, saying the system feels like a major step up in safety, along with another security measure implemented in 2025, Centegix badges.

“Every staff member has one of these badges, and they have the ability to press the button that’s on this badge, and that will also alert staff in the building that there is maybe a medical emergency, or they need help, or they’re having a difficulty somewhere,” Davis said. “There’s also a series of buttons you can push that will lock the school down and let 911 know that we have a major emergency in the school, and they will send police.”

Davis said that the security upgrades are an excellent tool for investigation and deterrence. He said the system has improved his ability to keep the district safe and given him peace of mind as a parent.

“I have three grown children, and I have two children that are still in school, and with my grown children, I know that the schools were safe, but I know the schools are safer now,” Davis said. “I can see that being in the school, and how that has progressed with safety, not just with camera systems, but with Centegix and the SROs in every building. My children are in the Paducah district, so I feel completely that my kids are safe.”

Shively said the world has changed significantly since he went through school, and safety is a major consideration. He said the district faces that reality and focuses on implementing every feasible safety resource that makes sense for their schools.

“There’s all kinds of different things that could be going on to require different needs, but that’s the functionality of our system,” Shively said. “It’s state of the art, and that’s what our kids deserve. It’s what our staff deserves, and that’s what this community deserves. And so, our board of education wants to make sure that we have that tool.”