STATESVILLE, N.C. — At a school board meeting Monday night, Iredell-Statesville Schools approved a new camera system for its buses.
The district is hoping newer, more up-to-date cameras will allow them to catch incidents and address them much quicker.
The cameras will be paid for using a $400,000 grant and just over $17,000 in capital funds.
“Here in Iredell County, we're passed illegally about 40 times a day. People running stopped school buses. People just don’t care," Assistant Transportation Director Ricky Adams said. "With these cameras, I hope to make a dent in the number of times that it happens.”
Tim Ivey, chief technology and facilities officer, brought this to the school board Monday night. He said the old cameras on school buses frequently malfunction and the new system will allow administrators to obtain the footage sooner without the help of a technician.
The district would also be getting more stop-arm cameras to catch drivers who dangerously pass right by them.
"Cameras that will be able to capture the front the back and the side of the vehicle as it passes the bus, if it passes the bus, you’ll be able to see the driver very clearly and the license tag, make and model," Ivey said. "It allows us to be able to respond to discipline much quicker and be able to address it in a timely manner."
Ivey said the company that is installing the cameras is one the district has worked with before; he said it would be similar to when a grant was used several years ago to put new radios in all the district buses.
“That’s good evidence to have against any, you know, malfeasance kind of activity. So, yeah, I think it’s a great idea," Cheryl Polk Koehler, a Statesville resident, said.
The cameras are expected to be installed over the summer.