Cameras coming to BSD buses
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/12/2016 (3387 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon School Division will be updating all 43 of its school buses with interior and exterior surveillance cameras.
Division trustees almost unanimously approved a proposal at Monday night’s school board meeting to buy 41 camera systems for approximately $150,000.
“This was a heavy duty budget discussion last year and here it is coming to fruition,” trustee Pat Bowslaugh said. “I’m quite thrilled the students on the bus will have that support against bullying and other things that come along on the bus ride.”
Five cameras will be installed on each bus — four inside the bus and one installed on the outside. Two buses already have the systems installed.
The cameras inside the bus will record video and sound to help monitor behaviour, while the camera outside will record licence plates should a car speed by a school bus while the stop sign and lights are activated.
While the majority of the school board was in favour of the cameras, BSD chair Kevan Sumner remained opposed, despite the cameras being budgeted for last year.
“I don’t feel the price is warranted,” Sumner said. “We voted (last year) to create a capital reserve, and I’m opposed to this particular expenditure.”
The surveillance equipment has a life expectancy of seven years, meaning it will need to be replaced once over the 12-year life of the bus, the division said, adding a future cost of $2,000 per bus into future budgets.
Past solutions to add additional monitoring on school buses was to have extra staff supervision, said trustee Glen Kruck, which was deemed not as reliable and efficient as the surveillance cameras will be.
“(The cameras) not only record video, but also sound … that’s an incredible benefit,” Kruck said.
» edebooy@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @erindebooy