Carolyn Fath Ashby
Superintendent Carlton Jenkins says the use of hidden cameras "is not in alignment with our values as a school district."
In September 2019, top brass at the Madison school district violated district policy by installing hidden cameras — concealed in hollowed-out smoke detectors — in a coach’s office in the boys' locker room and a room where disabled students undress and have their diapers changed. The concealed surveillance operation at East High School was done without informing school staff in the hopes of catching a custodian, who worked nights, sleeping on the job.
Isthmus has also learned, through multiple anonymous sources, that “large amounts of money” were planted in the room with the hidden cameras as part of the investigation. District spokesperson Tim LeMonds wouldn’t say if the custodian under investigation was ever disciplined, writing in an email to Isthmus, “we can not comment on personnel issues.”
“I have not seen any mention of ‘large amounts of money’ being left around as a part of the investigation in any of the information I have seen,” LeMonds wrote in a follow-up email to Isthmus. “That said, the internal investigation is still underway and if anything surfaces related to money being left, it will be included in the final report.”
According to a Feb. 23 email sent to parents by Superintendent Carlton Jenkins, these areas were selected because they “contained furniture conducive to sleeping.” Jenkins added the cameras are a “direct violation of district policy.” Even so, the district’s building services staff and Director of Labor Relations Heidi Tepp, an attorney, approved and executed a covert plan to install the cameras without the knowledge of East staff or then-superintendent Jane Belmore.
Several educators at East, fearing retaliation and requesting anonymity, said the secret planting of the cameras has eroded trust between East staff and the district and continues what they see as a pattern of “administrative bullying” by district leaders.
These district-approved cameras do not appear to be connected to the case of former East teacher David Kruchten, the educator who was arrested in January 2019 for allegedly placing cameras — also concealed in smoke detectors as well as in air fresheners — in the hotel bathrooms of students attending extra-curricular events. State and federal charges against Kruchten are working their way through the courts.
District policy explicitly prohibits installing any cameras in a school locker room and states “cameras will be placed in locations where they enhance the district’s efforts to provide a safe and secure environment.” Surveillance cameras that aren’t “visible” are also prohibited unless approved by the superintendent, which the district admits did not occur.
Details about the hidden cameras, installed in 2019 and removed in July 2020, didn’t come to light until January 2021. The Special Victims Unit of the Madison Police Department launched an investigation into the cameras on Jan. 8 after Principal Brendan Kearney was alerted by staff to the presence of the hollowed-out smoke detectors, which were still in the school. It was only after calling the police that Kearney learned that senior officials with the district had approved the installation of the cameras. The police investigation into the district’s actions concluded Jan. 21. Detective Julie Johnson wrote in the report that she “did not feel that any crime had been committed nor was there any intent to commit a crime.” The report also states that video footage from the hidden cameras no longer exists.
The police report, obtained by Isthmus, states the cameras were in operation for two weeks before being turned off. Before then, the cameras recorded continuously and weren’t connected to the server system at East used to store video footage of the visible surveillance cameras at the school. Instead, the footage was stored at the Building Services facility on Pflaum Road and was accessible only to David Kapp, assistant director of operations; Joe Anderson, facilities manager, who is now retired and lives out of state; and Joe Balles, the district’s security consultant.
After this article was first published, Balles contacted Isthmus to clarify his involvement with the cameras.
"I was never consulted," he tells Isthmus, adding he first learned about the hidden surveillance equipment in January 2021.
Anderson tasked Kapp with reviewing the footage with the intent of obtaining video evidence of a third-shift custodian sleeping on the job. According to an email included in the police report, the installation of the cameras was prompted by Anderson noticing on Aug. 24 that a custodian was in “the back seat of his car” near the end of his night shift.
Kapp told investigators he “never looked at video that had been recorded in those rooms during the day as he had no reason to.” After finding no footage of the custodian sleeping for about a week, Anderson called off the investigation and told Kapp it was “a waste of time.” The cameras remained in place for another 10 months but Anderson ordered access to the camera footage be cut off after two weeks. The district electrician who placed the hidden cameras told police it was “a super-secret install” and he “thought it was odd.” The electrician also confirmed that the cameras provided a live feed of the rooms until July 2020, but it was not recorded.
LeMonds tells Isthmus that “the district has not approved the placement of any additional hidden cameras” in other schools. An email sent to eight district administrators by Anderson on Sept. 6, 2019, states “it is the intent that staff at the school do not know these cameras are in place.”
In the email to East parents, Superintendent Jenkins wrote that “the request and subsequent approval of these concealed devices should never have occurred."
“Their installation is not in alignment with our values as a school district,” Jenkins added in the email. “As such, the district will await the conclusion of our internal investigation with MWH Law Group LLP, after which we will then decide what corrective actions are appropriate moving forward.”
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a quote from Joe Balles, the district's security consultant and to clarify which district staff carried out the plan to install hidden cameras. We’ve also changed students with special needs to disabled students because of feedback from disability advocates.