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I-SS putting digital cameras on buses(Statesville Record & Landmark Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 6--The Iredell-Statesville Schools Transportation Department has begun installing cameras into the district's school bus fleet. In March, the Board of Education approved a $200,000 request during its monthly meeting to purchase cameras to install in all 209 buses. "Our objective is by the time school starts to have a working camera on every bus," parts manager Ricky Adams said. The 2008-09 school year begins Aug. 25. The newer and more up-to-date digital cameras will be replacing video cameras that had a life expectancy of five years, most of which have already aged out. The cameras have already been purchased, and as buses come into the garage this summer, cameras will be mounted above the windshield and pointed in the direction of students. "It's kind of like having a silent monitor," I-SS Chief Operations Officer Johnson said. "It will make for a safer environment on the bus." He said two years ago the district began looking at ways to decrease bus incidents. It was able to reduce discipline incidents by 35 percent last year, and "this is the next step in that process," he said. In addition Johnson said they will also be a morale booster for drivers and help the district monitor driver conduct. Johnson installing the cameras was made possible by the BOE's decision to appropriate funds and make student safety a priority. The old cameras were also handheld and weren't meant to be positioned in school buses, so they had to be modified. The new digital cameras are a better quality and can be mounted outside or inside the buses. There are several reasons for wanting to add upgraded cameras to the buses, according to Johnson. "We feel like it will help our bus drivers and school administrators maintain a safer and more orderly environment on the buses," he said. The new technology is meant to deter misbehavior and keep principals from spending too much time on bus referrals, giving them more time on school referrals and incidents. In the past three weeks, mechanics have been concentrating on putting cameras on buses without video cameras and those with malfunctioning cameras. Each camera takes about an hour to install, Johnson said. Currently, the 18 Exceptional Children and alternative buses have monitors, but the other 191 don't have them. The cameras have many features, including a panic button that will mark the time of an incident so officials won't have to watch the entire tape; a memory card; and pictures can be downloaded. Johnson said all bus rides will continue to be safe and more orderly, and "this will continue to impact our bus rate discipline." "We hope parents will be encouraged that we are being proactive and that we take their kids' safety very seriously," he said. To see more of the Statesville Record & Landmark or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.statesville.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Statesville Record & Landmark, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |