SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Two major community issues are expected to draw crowds in Scottsdale Tuesday night - one involving school closures, the other a debate over police surveillance cameras.
Parents are expected to pack Desert Mountain High School's auditorium for a meeting on which campuses could close.
The Scottsdale School Board is expected to close two of four campuses. Currently on the potential closure list are Redfield Elementary, Laguna, Desert Canyon and Copper Ridge.
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Scottsdale parent Amy Fergus plans to attend the meeting. Her children's school, Redfield Elementary, is on the list for potential closure.
Some parents plan to ask the board to wait another year before deciding. Fergus disagrees.
"We feel like the decision needs to be made on October 6th; we don't want to drag this out. We're tired," Fergus said.
Across town, Scottsdale's mayor will ask the city council to formally take up Flock license plate cameras at their October 20th meeting. The mayor needs a majority vote on Tuesday just to get a formal discussion scheduled.
The push follows a growing number of residents taking their concerns straight to the council, demanding a formal public review of the license-plate reader cameras.
"This is not an argument against police. This is an argument that surveillance at this scale should never become normal without debate and constitutional scrutiny," said Scottsdale resident Craig Ramey at a council meeting in August.
Scottsdale's police chief calls the cameras a crucial safety tool, but he has offered new safeguards, including an independent audit.
