Wake County school board members were briefed Tuesday on a proposal to work with the county to install cameras in school zones and on school bus stop-arms. The effort was promoted as a way to discourage speeders, as well as raise additional revenue for the school system from the fine money.
“Mainly, the goal would be to deter people from putting kids at risk,” said school board attorney Neal Ramee. “But if somebody does violate it, you have a better system to catch it and collect fines, which go to the public school system.”
The school board’s facilities committee asked for more information before making a recommendation. The board will get another presentation before it decides whether to let staff work on the program.
COUNTY WOULD NEED TO SIGN OFF ON PROGRAM
Under state law, fines go to public schools. But Ramee said it wasn’t feasible for schools to collect fines from camera violations until the state Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals ruling that had struck down the City of Greenville’s red-light camera enforcement program.
Ramee said he’s already had preliminary talks with the county attorney’s office. But Ramee said it would help if the school board gave permission for school administrators to enter into talks with the county manager’s office.
“We can’t do it without the county’s cooperation and involvement,” Ramee said.
SOME BOARD MEMBERS SUPPORT STARTING PROGRAM
School board chair Tyler Swanson said he’s all for exploring the program to make it work.
“It’s all about keeping students safe, especially knowing we can’t control every crosswalk,” Swanson said.
Swanson pointed to how Wake has a policy that encourages students to walk to school if they can.
“We want them to be safe and do what’s best and shift human behavior around school zones,” Swanson said.
Swanson said he’s already been contacted by camera vendors. Ramee said board members should refer vendors to staff.
While vendors want to make money, Superintendent Robert Taylor said the district’s primary goal would be to reduce the number of stop-arm violations.
WOULD CAMERA PROGRAM BE UNPOPULAR?
School board member Toshiba Rice said the board needs more details before she could support exploring the program. Rice cited how many people disliked Raleigh’s red-light camera program.
Raleigh ended its red-light camera program in 2024 amid the lawsuits against their use in other municipalities, The News & Observer previously reported.
Rice said they need more community feedback before starting a camera program. She asked for more data on how often people pass stopped school buses and how often students have been hurt
“Show me how much harm has been done,” Rice said. “I certainly don’t want people running bus stops. I’ve seen people do it, but I still want to see the data.”
Taylor said the data on how often people pass stopped school buses would be alarming.
“Running red lights, people view that differently than passing stopped school buses with the arms extended,” Taylor said. “That’s where I think you’ll find more people willing to support this kind of program.”
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