Wherein the tempest takes a turn and dies

So, the meeting with Ms. Andrea Alford, Director of the Brevard School Board's Department of District & School Security, went better than expected, which honestly wasn't saying all that much. On the plus side, I managed to avoid getting slapped with a criminal trespass warning (or worse). On the other hand, the fact that this progressed to that point is... well, pretty damn pathetic.

The agreement basically is this: They have no legal basis for forcing me to delete the pictures I took, but they'd better not pop back up online somewhere. Meanwhile, going forward, I'm not allowed to bring "your big professional camera" onto a school campus. With that, the matter is considered closed.

And now, for a bit of a brain dump. Feel free to ignore this, as it'll probably come off as self-righteous ranting -- I'm more than a little pissed off at the whole affair..

The track they took is that I was illegally vending. This is something that I hadn't expected as I'd considered it rather ludicrous. It sort of had the aroma of "they don't have anything better to throw at me" especially when one considers what they call "vending" -- Using the definition I was given, anyone taking a picture for someone else would be considered vending, even if just as a "favor", because "favors" are a form of compensation. That's quite a stretch, but hey, whatever...

They apparently mistook my asking questions for me being difficult, but I pointed out (repeatedly) that I was trying to understand what their policies were, how I was supposed to have known, and how I (or someone else) could work within them. A big "aaaah" moment occurred when I realized they were objecting to my taking pictures, period, rather than my taking pictures of kids other than the one I'd been invited to see. That also smells a little funny, given how many other cameras were there, but again, whatever... And that sort of leads to my main observation...

...that the school district either doesn't really know their own polices, hasn't fully formulated them, hasn't communicated them to those that need to know them (like the principals), and/or the policies simply aren't being properly/consistently followed.

For example: At least two of the volunteers at the talent show hadn't gone through the "registered volunteer" process, which includes being fingerprinted and a background check. One of them was even listed in the program guide.

I was told that someone should have told me I couldn't take pictures, or at least should have asked me who I was.. but that can be explained by..

The principal of the school couldn't tell me what policies there were regarding photography. One would think she'd know, assuming she was properly informed herself. And if she didn't, one couldn't expect the general staff and/or volunteers to know.

And perhaps most damning -- At one point, Ms. Alford asked, "Where did you get [the kids'] names?" I immediately replied (more than a little incredulously) "...Off the program guide?" To which she started visibly and hastily scribbled (another) note. Yup, those names that I was being given grief for publishing (and kicked off this kerfuffle) were printed in full in the program guide that anyone off the street could have obtained for the price of a $2 ticket. And therein lies my thought process -- "If this is a public event and the school is publishing this information, there won't be any problem if I republish it, right?" Apparently someone screwed up, big time.

What's sad about this is that the folks who asked me to come and photograph their daughter (and were volunteering!) were also the ones that suggested I give out business cards. They thought they were doing me a favor. No good deed goes unpunished, as they say, and their coming to my aid also inadvertently made things a lot worse -- I think that's where the whole "professional/vending" angle came from.

Well, that and the fact that I had a business card. (oh wow, I spent $10 at Kinko's). And my "professional-looking" camera. (never mind I could have done this with a disposable camera) And that I have an evil Y chromosome. (along with half the world) And I took pictures of children. (Oh noes!) And I live alone. (Between roommates) ....Bla-de-fucking-bla.

One has to wonder how many random photos/videos of those kids are up on Facebook (or whatever). But judging by recent news and contrary to tv-crime-show-du-jour, kids have more to fear from the fully-vetted-and-background-checked faculty and staff at their schools than they do from random members of the general public. The most recent arrest? A Pinellas County Principal. Sheesh.

..There's something seriously fucked-up about our schooling system. Okay, a lot of things. But that's another rant for another time.

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