Data privacy is at the top of everyone’s mind, especially when students are concerned. Turns out principals may have to worry as well.
Principal Courtney Carroll of Jack Miner Public School has been under secret surveillance for months, according to an email allegedly sent to administrators by the Ontario Principals Council. Concerned that Carroll may have been using work hours to write a book, the Toronto District School Board hid a camera inside a clock pointed at his desk.
“On rare occasions, yes, we have used these in past years, and that’s something that’s been used successfully in some cases,” says board member Ryan Bird of the secret cameras. The school board says it cannot comment on specific investigations.
In an email to The Star, Carroll said he could not “confirm or deny whether surveillance of this nature was used in my school.” He further wrote that “the information you've obtained is false. I am not writing a book, either on school time or otherwise. I did write a book on my personal time that was published in 2012.”
Canadian law requires that employees be informed that hidden cameras may be recording them. The Toronto District School Board says as many as ten cameras may be in use in the district at any given time, but no cameras are currently being used. The board is also reviewing these surveillance policies.
