The Marlboro School Board is considering teaming up with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) network to install cameras and begin live streaming sporting events.

Michael Bakatsias, the Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Personnel in Marlboro Central School District, brought up the new opportunity at the school board meeting on Thursday night.

The NFHS is the organization that writes the playing rules for most high school competition sports in the United States. The NFHS network is a school broadcasting program in charge of delivering live high school sports to the country.

The service will give the school board two free wireless cameras and be in charge of managing broadcasts of the events remotely. Subscribers can view the sporting event live for $9.95 a month, and the event will be free to the public three days after it takes place. The events are streamed through the NFHS network website which also gives you an option to buy a DVD of an event. 43 other states use the streaming service and 53 schools in New York currently utilize the service.

The program is proposed as a revenue sharing program, stating that after three years of subscriptions the company will revenue share those subscriptions with the district.

“I don’t see it as revenue sharing because the district will incur some costs, whether it’s maintenance or down the road, there’s cost involved. So these revenues would really go to offset expenses of the program,” Bakatsias said.

The partnership with NFHS still needs to be reviewed but if the school board moves ahead with the process they are thinking of placing the cameras on the turf field and in the gymnasium of the high school. Additionally, if the school and public like the cameras, there is an option to purchase more which may be placed on the softball and baseball fields.

One of the biggest appeals to live streaming sporting events is for the parents who aren’t able to make it to the games. Not every parent can take off of work and catch a four o’clock game, and having the ability to watch the game live or later on would be helpful to a lot of parents, said Frank Milazzo, President of the Board of Education.

Along with sporting events the board can choose to use the camera however they want, meaning they’re not limited to just sports.

“I don’t just think of sporting events, I think of art events, I think of other programs we have in our school,” Bakatsias said.

The school board also thinks that if this is something they go through with it would be a good idea to get the students involved. There is a possibility of starting a club in the high school where the students can be the ones manning the cameras and learning how to use the equipment.

There are some concerns, however, regarding the cameras. One audience member brought up her concerns of other school districts being able to use the cameras, or the cameras turning on and recording things randomly. Michael Brooks, the Marlboro School Board Superintendent, is worried about the possible privacy issues and cost down the line.

“There are just some elements that I need to have some comfort on before making recommendations,” Brooks said.

These concerns will all be reviewed and vetted before any decision is made, the board would like to have a decision made by the end of June.