GREENFIELD — Following months of discussions on ways to make schools safer, the School Committee has voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Police Department that allows officers to monitor the schools’ live security camera feeds.

Superintendent Karin Patenaude broached the topic in the last 20 minutes of a roughly four-hour committee meeting on Wednesday night. She said the agreement will allow police to view live footage under “certain instances.”

“We have been discussing our increased safety and security protocols and the improvements we’ve been making district-wide to our systems,” Patenaude said. “One of the things that we had discussed was allowing access to our live video feeds by the Greenfield Police Department in certain instances when there is an emergency situation or an active threat.”

Each of Greenfield’s six public schools has a live camera feed.

The agreement, which was drafted and reviewed by the city’s attorney, states that the Police Department’s access to the video feeds must first be approved by the superintendent or one of her “designees,” unless police are notified of a potential emergency through the emergency alert system. The agreement stays in effect indefinitely unless it is terminated by either party.

Emergency situations in which police can request live feed access include active threats, intruders on school grounds, natural disasters, fires or the release of hazardous materials. The agreement also lists hostage situations, “situations involving violent acts,” missing students and concerns of an abduction, or “other incidents posing an immediate threat to the safety of individuals on school property.”

Approval of the memorandum of understanding by the School Committee comes after an FBI investigation in Greenfield prompted concerns for student safety in September. A weeks-long debate on whether to station a school resource officer in the district ensued.

Police Chief Todd Dodge spoke at a Nov. 13 School Committee meeting, noting that increased communication between the two departments and new security agreements have made the district as protected as possible.

“Communication between the Police Department and the School Department is probably as strong as it’s ever been. A lot of initiatives are underway, all thanks to the superintendent,” Dodge said in November. “Every initiative underway is keeping student and faculty safety in mind. … At this point in time, with the communication going on between us, the schools are probably as safe as can be right now.”

Although the committee approved the memorandum of understanding after only limited discussion, some members, such as Stacey Sexton, asked exactly what kinds of situations might trigger the police’s emergency alert system. In response, Patenaude said the issue can be discussed in executive session.

Member Elizabeth DeNeeve questioned the agreement’s “indemnification” clause, in which the Police Department agrees to “indemnify and hold harmless” the school district from any liability arising from “unauthorized use or access to the live video feeds” by police. In response, Patenaude suggested again that the School Committee go into executive session.

Following a roughly 10-minute executive session, the committee returned to public session and voted unanimously to approve the memorandum of understanding with the Police Department.

As of Thursday afternoon, Dodge said he had not yet seen the memorandum of understanding, which requires signatures from both Dodge and Patenaude.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.