CHICO, Calif. - The Chico Unified School District's decision to install cameras with AI and facial recognition software has sparked community pushback since the school board approved them last December. Action News Now on Thursday met with Chico Unified School Board Member Tom Lando to get answers on data storage and who will have access to the new system. Community concerns centered on the AI facial recognition software and how children's data and likenesses could be stored and used. Many parents questioned why such a significant change was handled without public debate. In December of 2025, the CUSD board approved replacing the district's 12-year-old camera system on its consent calendar, where items are typically approved without debate. The decision involved not just the $1.9 million dollar price tag, but a complete shift from old CCTV cameras to AI-powered ones. Lando said the board didn't know the new cameras came with AI software capabilities when they approved the purchase. He said replacing district equipment, not just cameras, is routinely placed on the consent calendar. The district's IT department never told the board this wasn't a standard camera upgrade. It was a completely different system. "What happened was that in the process of replacing old equipment, just like we do every year. We replaced Chromebook, old devices. Our cameras were end of life and IT wanted to replace them. They found what they thought was the best way to do that. And they put it on our consent calendar with all our regular monthly and annual spending," Lando said. "From our point of view we were just replacing old technology with new technology as we often do." Lando pointed to a February meeting that hasn't gotten enough attention. In that meeting, the board voted 5 to 0 to prohibit the cameras from