Banner MoCo: Parents raise concerns about Volt AI camera surveillance and piloting processes

[Anonymous]

SOURCE: https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/ai-weapons-detection-wootton-mcps-GSXGSXNN6JE3TLHWXNCIPHYDVA/?bis=article-action-link

After a shooting at Wootton High School last month, parents demanded answers: How did a teenager manage to bring a gun onto the Rockville campus? Why wasn’t there something in place to stop him?

Behind the scenes, the district was working on it. Montgomery County schools superintendent Thomas Taylor shared just hours after the shooting that MCPS would soon launch a trial run of an AI-powered weapons detection system.

Now parents have a whole new set of questions: Are there safeguards in place? Would the software target kids of color? Could footage end up in ICE’s hands? And why did the district pick Bethesda-based VOLT AI for the pilot?

“Safety is paramount,” said Terrena Smith, a mother of two. “But when it comes to safety technology, it should really meet a high bar as far as necessity, transparency and equity. And I haven’t seen that.”

Company leaders say their technology works with existing campus security cameras to flag potential dangers, such as if someone sneaks a weapon onto school grounds.

The pilot agreement states that VOLT AI also looks for “suspicious activity.” It “evaluates loitering, erratic movements, or other patterns that deviate from normal behavior.”

Montgomery County is among a growing number of Maryland school districts turning to new technology in hopes of preventing future violence. Systems like VOLT AI are positioned as one alternative to metal detectors, which many worry make schools feel like prisons. But weapons detection technology fueled by artificial intelligence has already drawn criticism for false alarms and equity concerns.

Adding to Montgomery County parents’ unease are rumblings about the district’s track record when purchasing security software. In 2025, a district dad flagged the Office of the Inspector General with concerns about whether a different company inappropriately flexed its connection to a local politician.

The school security industry has grown into a multibillion-dollar market, with companies pitching district leaders on everything from bulletproof whiteboards to drones that hit active shooters with pepper spray.

[Anonymous]

This was super concerning:

Some parents also worried after searching VOLT AI’s website and finding a blog post that highlighted the company’s special designation from the Department of Homeland Security.

In July 2025, the company received a “Developmental Testing and Evaluation Designation,” which provides some liability protections to companies creating products with the potential to prevent terrorism.

With tensions high amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, this connection to the federal department set off parents’ alarm bells.

Sokolowski said they do not have an ongoing relationship with DHS.

And I'm sorry, bot Sokolowski's claim that they don't have an ongoing relationship with DHS after just touting the DHS stamp of approval in Sept. of last year is not credible.

[Anonymous]

After learning of this, Schwarz talked with Superintendent Taylor, who was not the district chief at the time of the Lightspeed outreach.

According to Schwarz, the superintendent acknowledged concerns about the district’s contracting protocols and encouraged him to alert the inspector general’s office.

Schwarz asked for a probe into “questionable contracting activities by MCPS, beginning with influence peddling by LightSpeed in the form of using a familial relationship to the County Council President,” as well as the acceptance of a free year of services and other “questionable actions.”

The inspector general’s office told Schwarz their staff didn’t plan to investigate the matter but would keep the complaint in mind.

Reached by phone, Dara Friedson, who no longer works for the company, referred questions to Lightspeed. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Holy crap. Taylor literally encouraged a parent to sic the OIG on the school system he oversees? The same OIG that he disrespected and ignored on the security clearance background check issues?

I'm guessing he encouraged Schwarz to engage the OIG because he thought it would further tarnish and damage the tenure of his predecessor, Dr. McKnight, bolstering his knight in shining armor narrative. Dr. Taylor is a manipulative, calculating SOB.

Also, the naked cronyism of Andrew Friedson's sister-in-law peddling her connections in selling her company wares is proof of how brazenly corrupt and crooked Montgomery County politics is. This is why the County Council and the BOE all fail as a check on MCPS: They're all in bed together.