Roanoke County will join almost every other school district in the region in placing security cameras in its schools.

The county's school board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to launch a pilot program that will place several cameras at William Byrd Middle School.

If the pilot is successful, video cameras could be placed in other county schools, Director of Operations Martin Misicko told the board.

About a third of Virginia's schools have installed security cameras, including schools in almost all Southwest Virginia jurisdictions.

The board's decision means that Botetourt County is the only jurisdiction in the Roanoke Valley with no cameras in schools.

"I couldn't believe a school district this size didn't have them," said Carlton Mabe, president of the Roanoke County Council of PTAs. Mabe, who used to be a member of the William Byrd Middle School PTA, was an early proponent of security cameras, which have become increasingly popular in schools since the Columbine High School shootings of 1999.

Roanoke County already has security cameras on its school buses.

"This is a good step in the direction of safety for the children," Mabe said.

If the $27,660 program is successful, school administrators will evaluate each school individually to determine whether it needs cameras. The cameras would monitor the school's entrances and other blind spots on school property.

Until now, he said, schools have relied on school resource officers from the police department as well as office staff for security.

"We've got measures in the offices in place," he said.

"We think it's a very positive thing for the board to address this," said Sarah Hollett, president of the Roanoke County Education Association and a special education teacher at Clearbrook Elementary.

"That, to me, is just being proactive."