Davidson County School board addresses hot button issues with 2-million-dollar AI grant
The Davidson County Schools Board of Education voted in favor of two controversial issues during its meeting on Monday.
The school board approved accepting a $2 million state grant to create a pilot program that will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to improve school safety, and approved starting the school year almost two weeks earlier next year.
Davidson County Schools is one of two school districts in North Carolina that was awarded state funding as part of a disaster relief bill passed by the General Assembly at the end of 2024 to create an AI School Safety Program. New Hanover County was also allocated $3.2 million.
The school systems will use the funding to create a pilot program that integrates AI technology into existing cameras and video systems to detect security threats and emergencies, including intruders on campus or to identify potential weapons.
Several members of the community spoke in opposition of the pilot program questioning its effectiveness as well as raising alarm over the use of AI technology to track students movements.
But a majority of the school board members said, while the technology isn’t perfect, the district should use every resource available to protect students.
“Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of anything that keeps our children, staff and administrators safe on all of our 38 campuses…It is our responsibility to be good stewards of how we allow AI to be used,” said school board chairman Nick Jarvis.
The DCS Board of Education members voted 4-1 in favor of accepting the grant, with the requirement that the district perform a risk assessment of the program and the software company prior to implementing the pilot program.
The school board also voted 4-1 in favor of accepting an earlier start to the 2025-2026 school year. The first day for students will be Aug. 11 with the first semester ending on Dec. 19, and the last day of school on May 21.
Davidson County joins several other school districts in the state, including Lexington City Schools, that have adopted an early start calendar in violation of current state law.
North Carolina law prohibits traditional public schools from starting the school year before the Monday closest to August 26, although there are several pending school calendar flexibility bills being discussed by state legislators.
