Sussex Tech High School in Georgetown recently installed new security cameras on its school buses.
The new camera system is on the school’s 33 buses.
Sussex Tech’s administrators say the upgrade provides a more uniform platform - one the school will be fully responsible for operating. But they will also be able to review bus footage at any time.
Principal Matthew Donovan says it’s always good to upgrade technology when possible.
“We also added an additional camera on the arm of the bus so when it is out and all traffic should be stopped near it, it records what’s in the vicinity. So if someone were to violate the arm that goes out when the bus has stopped, we can get footage from that.”
Donovan adds that they expect the multiple cameras inside each bus will be a deterrent to unruly behavior by students.
“We take school safety as an utmost priority here in our buildings," Donovan said. "And we review our technology periodically to make sure that it works for us. It’s the best out there that can give us the best images and certainly the addition of the arm camera is paramount to ensure that our students are safe and holding those out there driving accountable. And that’s important we feel.”
The cameras operate on a passive monitoring system. There’s also a passive GPS system to identify the location of an incident, along with information like the speed of the bus and time of stop-arm deployment.
The camera upgrade cost the District $94,000, with additional money set aside for maintenance.
